BUSACT702 · Accounting Information Systems
Systems Flowcharts: Symbols & Rules
This is the engine room of University of Auckland BUSACT 702: the systems-flowchart symbol set and the nine drawing rules, laid out in columns (swim-lanes) by entity, and the craft of turning a business-process narrative into a correct flowchart. The secure, closed-book test is precisely this — read a narrative, draw or critique a systems flowchart under time pressure — and it is marked element by element, so symbol choice and clean flows are where the ticks live.
What this chapter covers
- 01The symbol set: external entity / start-stop, single document, multiple (three) documents, manual input, manual process, computer process, on-screen display
- 02Data-store symbols: magnetic disk storage; a paper file filed N (numerically), A (alphabetically) or C (chronologically); the general journal / general ledger symbol
- 03Connectors and flows: on-page connector (labelled A), off-page connector, document flow, data/information flow, telecommunications link, batch total (BT), annotation
- 04Columns / swim-lanes: one column per entity; every symbol sits in the column of whoever performs it
- 05The nine drawing rules (e.g. show where a document ends up; number copies; filing needs no process symbol; every process has an input and an output)
- 06Manual process vs computer process — the distinction markers watch for (an automatic journal posting is a computer process)
- 07Reading a narrative: who are the entities, what activities does each perform, what are the inputs and outputs
- 08Decision symbols and branches (e.g. 'goods available?', an approval threshold) with both paths leading somewhere
Placing the symbols in an order-entry narrative
- +1Retrieval of the address from Customer Data = a computer process reading a data store (magnetic disk), both in the Computer column — the consultant did not look it up manually, the system did.
- +1The displayed order = an on-screen display symbol in the Computer column (output to the screen the consultant reads), feeding the consultant's manual check.
- +1Filing the paper Hire Request by customer name = a data-store (paper file) symbol labelled A (alphabetical) in the Hire Consultant column. By rule 5, do NOT add a manual-process box for the act of filing.
- +1The overnight update of sales, AR and inventory = an automatic computer process in the Computer column (a batch process), annotated with the timing (e.g. 6 pm) per rule 8. It is not a manual process even though no person triggers it in the moment.
Key terms
- Swim-lane (column)
- A vertical column for one entity in a systems flowchart; every symbol is drawn in the column of whoever performs that step, so hand-offs between entities are visible as flows crossing columns.
- Manual process vs computer process
- A manual process is performed by a person (checking, matching, keying); a computer process is performed automatically by the system (retrieving, saving, posting a journal). Choosing the wrong one is a common lost mark.
- Data store (paper file)
- A filed document, labelled N (filed numerically), A (alphabetically) or C (chronologically). Filing needs no manual-process symbol (rule 5).
- On-page vs off-page connector
- An on-page connector (a labelled circle, e.g. A) joins flows on the same page; an off-page connector carries a flow to another page, keeping the diagram readable.
- Document flow vs data flow
- A document flow shows a physical or printed document moving between steps; a data/information flow (including a telecommunications link) shows data moving electronically between two places.
- The nine drawing rules
- The course's rules for a correct flowchart — including: show where a document that enters the system ends up; number copies; documents moving entity-to-entity appear in each column; filing needs no process; every process has an input and an output; document only normal processing; annotate ambiguities; and make labels meaningful.
Systems Flowcharts: Symbols & Rules FAQ
What is the single most important skill in this course?
Turning a narrative into a correct systems flowchart, at speed, closed book. The secure test is exactly this and it is marked element by element, so the symbol set and the nine rules must be automatic.
How is the flowchart marked?
Per element: each correctly placed and correctly typed symbol and flow earns a tick (the available past papers literally show ticks on the drawn flowchart). That means neatness and correctness of each symbol matter more than a grand overall design.
What are the most common mistakes?
Confusing a manual process with an automatic computer process (an automatic journal posting is a computer process), forgetting to show where an incoming document ends up (rule 2), adding a process box for filing (rule 5 says don't), and leaving a decision branch that dead-ends (rule 6: every process has an input and an output).
Do I need special software to practise?
No — practise by hand on paper, because the secure test may be on paper and the skill is the symbol placement, not the tool. The exact delivery (Inspera or paper) is set for your quarter, so confirm it on Canvas.
Can Sia check my flowchart logic?
Sia can walk a narrative with you and check, step by step, whether each activity should be a manual or computer process, where each document ends up, and whether your decision branches close — a study aid, not a way to have your graded test drawn for you.
Exam move
Memorise the symbol set and the nine rules until you can reproduce them from a blank page, then drill narrative-to-flowchart conversions by hand under a 30-minute timer, closed book, on the case narratives (Summise, XYZ Restaurant, Semantics, Metro). After each attempt, self-mark element by element: columns set, every document shown where it ends up, manual vs computer processes correct, filing drawn as a data store with no process box, decisions with both branches closing. Keep a running list of the ticks you keep dropping — for most people it is the manual/computer distinction and rule 2 — and target those. Confirm the test's delivery mode and timing on Canvas.
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