Folyamatdiagrams

Folyamatdiagrams are visual representations of the steps, inputs, outputs, and decisions that constitute a process. They are used to analyze, document, communicate, and improve how work flows across industries. In Hungarian-language sources, the term folyamatdiagrams is commonly used to describe process diagrams in general, while English-language texts may refer to specific notations such as flowcharts, BPMN diagrams, or data flow diagrams.

Common notations and forms include flowcharts, data flow diagrams, value stream maps, and business process model and notation (BPMN). These diagrams share core elements: a sequence of activities, decision points, inputs and outputs, and the flow of control or data between steps. Some diagrams organize activities into lanes to show responsibilities, known as swimlanes, in order to clarify roles.

Key purposes of folyamatdiagrams include documenting current processes, communicating how work should proceed, serving as a baseline for improvement, and guiding automation and software design. They help identify bottlenecks, redundancies, handoff issues, and compliance gaps, and they can support training and onboarding as well as process redesign.

Historically, process diagrams evolved from early flowcharts used to map operations in production and administrative work. Data flow diagrams gained prominence in the 1970s as part of structured analysis, while standardized notations such as BPMN emerged in the early 2000s to support complex business processes and interoperability across tools.

Related concepts include flowcharts, data flow diagrams, value stream mapping, BPMN, and process mining, all of which share the goal of making processes visible to analyze and improve performance.