For the past few classes we have been talking about flow charts and how they help lay out a decision process. For this blog we had to take a new customer using Amazon.com to buy a new book. While it seemed that many people we familiar with using flowcharts in class, this was the first time I was ever exposed to them. In class we practiced flowcharts with an exercise in our groups. I took a step back when we tackled this exercise and observed what the other members of my group had to say and how they went about creating this flowchart. By then end, and after some constructive criticism from Professor O’Connell, I knew I would be ready to start the Amazon flowchart.
Believe it or not, I have never used Amazon to buy something … well maybe once, but I had no memory of it. So, in order to know how to do start this flowchart, I went straight to the source, Amazon.com. I acted as if I was the “new user”, and created an account. With a piece of paper at my side, I wrote down everything I looked at or clicked on. Searching for the most recent book I have read, it was as easy of a checkout as any other website that I have used. I used the “decision” shape for the one major question that must be answered before any purchase someone makes online; did you pick the right product? If you have done so, then you simply follow the steps to complete your order. However, if it’s not the right product, then you simply start from one of the pervious steps.
After a few rough drafts and a couple mistakes, the final flowchart was finished. I remember when I first saw a flow chart in class and how I had no idea what all of the different shapes meant. Now looking at my flowchart, instead of seeing a busy sheet with words and shapes, it all makes sense.
This assignment reminded me a lot about the map mind blog post we did earlier in the semester. I remember how after finishing the mind map it helped me organize all of the ideas and thoughts in my head. Even though the principles behind mind maps are different from flowcharts, the still seem to accomplish the same thing in my opinion; organize. This is the one of my biggest problems is that I find myself overwhelmed with the amount of things I had to do in one day. A flowchart gives you a simple step-by-step visual of how to get through all of these activities, while the mind maps made me think about everything I had to do through a different lens.
Going forward, I can see myself using these flowcharts in many different ways. Whether that is with helping something follow a set of directions or even mapping out how to get a project done. Being a visual learner myself, flowcharts are made for me in that they help me retain the information much easier.
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