Sample Flow Chart: Tom's Late-Delivery Complaint Example

Published November 11, 2026 · Updated November 11, 2026 · 7 min read · by the Sakura5 team

A sample flow chart for Tom, a support agent handling a late-delivery complaint, looks like this: an oval for the start (“Customer reports late order”), a rectangle for each action Tom takes, a diamond wherever the next step depends on a yes-or-no answer, and an oval for the end (“Case closed and customer told”). The whole thing fits on one page in eleven shapes, and you can copy its structure for almost any everyday process.

Most people searching for a sample flow chart do not want a lecture on symbols. They want something concrete to copy and adjust. So this post builds one example from start to finish, shows the finished chart as a list you can redraw, and then explains the choices behind it so you can swap in your own steps.

Below: why generic templates fall flat, Tom’s complete example with real numbers, how to build your own version in four moves, the mistakes that make a sample chart unreadable, and a short FAQ.

Why a generic sample flow chart does not help

Search for a sample flow chart and you get a grid of boxes labelled “Step 1,” “Decision,” “Step 2.” It shows the shapes but none of the thinking. You still do not know how many steps is normal, what a good decision question sounds like, or where the chart should stop.

A useful sample has three things a blank template lacks. It has a named trigger and a named end state, so you can see the boundaries. It has verb-first labels, so every box says what someone does. And it has at least one unhappy path, because a chart that only shows success is a brochure. Tom’s example has all three.

If you want the symbol rules first, our guide to flowchart symbols and what they mean covers each shape in a few lines. The rest of this post assumes you know that ovals start and end, rectangles act, and diamonds ask.

A sample flow chart for Tom: the late-delivery complaint

Tom works in customer support at a small online shop. About twenty customers a week write in to say an order has not arrived. His manager wants a one-page chart so the new hire, Priya, handles these the same way Tom does. This is the process he draws.

The boundaries

Trigger: a customer emails to say an order is late. End: the customer has a refund, a replacement or a confirmed delivery date, and the case is closed. Everything between those two ovals belongs on the chart; anything outside it, like how the warehouse packs orders, does not.

The steps, in order

1. Start (oval): Customer reports late order.
2. Action: Look up the order number and shipping date.
3. Decision: Is the order more than 10 days past its ship date? If no, go to step 4. If yes, go to step 6.
4. Action: Check the carrier’s tracking page.
5. Decision: Does tracking show movement in the last 3 days? If yes, email the customer the tracking link and an expected date, then jump to the end. If no, go to step 6.
6. Action: Open a trace request with the carrier.
7. Decision: Is the order value over $100? If yes, ask a manager to approve a replacement. If no, offer the customer a choice of refund or replacement.
8. Action: Issue the refund or ship the replacement.
9. Action: Email the customer with what was done and when to expect it.
10. End (oval): Case closed.

That is two ovals, five actions and three diamonds, with one early exit. The early exit matters: an order that is simply in transit should not be pushed through a refund path. Tom’s numbers, 10 days, 3 days and $100, are his shop’s own rules, not universal ones. The point is that each diamond holds one measurable question.

Reading it as a picture

Drawn top to bottom, the chart has one main spine running from the first oval to the last. The two “No” branches in the middle bend sideways to the tracking check, then rejoin the spine at the trace request. The “Yes” exit on the tracking diamond runs to a single email box and then straight to the end oval. Label every arrow that leaves a diamond; an unlabelled branch is where readers get lost.

Tom tested it the only way that counts: he took three real tickets from last month and walked each one through the chart with his finger. Two followed the paths cleanly. The third was a customer who had given the wrong address, which no diamond covered, so he added a diamond after the order lookup: “Does the address match the order?” One extra question, and the chart now covered all three.

How to build your own version in four moves

You can reuse Tom’s skeleton for any process: onboarding a client, approving an expense, returning a library book. Budget about 30 minutes for a process of ten to fifteen steps.

1. Name the trigger and the end state

Write one sentence each. If either takes you more than a line, the process is too big for one chart. Split it and chart the pieces separately.

2. Dump the steps before you sequence them

List everything that happens, in any order, using verbs. This is the stage where a free-form map beats a diagramming tool, because you are collecting, not arranging. In Mindmap AI you can paste a description of the process, or an existing checklist, and the AI (a Pro feature) turns it into a map of branches you can prune and rename. That gives you an inventory to correct instead of a blank page.

3. Turn the “it depends” moments into diamonds

Go through the list and underline every place where the next step depends on something. Rewrite each as a yes-or-no question with a number or a fact in it: “over $100?” beats “high value?” Our walkthrough on creating a flowchart for decision-making goes deeper on phrasing these well.

4. Order, draw and test with real cases

Switch the map to its outline view to check the sequence as a plain ordered list, then redraw it with the standard shapes in whichever tool you like. Finish by walking three real past cases through it. Any case that falls off the chart shows you a missing diamond. For a longer method with a refund-process example, see our guide to making a flowchart for a process.

Mistakes that ruin a sample flow chart

• Mixed altitude. “Resolve complaint” next to “Click Send” in the same chart. Keep every box the same size of task.
• Three exits from a diamond. It is almost always two decisions in a row. Split it.
• Vague labels. “Review” tells nobody what to do. “Check carrier tracking” does.
• No end. Every path must reach an end oval. If an arrow dead-ends, the process has a hole.
• Too many shapes. Ovals, rectangles, diamonds and arrows cover nearly everything. The American Society for Quality maintains a short reference to flowchart basics and symbols if you do need the rarer ones.

When your process has loops and handoffs

Tom’s chart runs one way. Real processes sometimes loop: a customer replies with new information and the case goes back to the lookup step. Draw that as an arrow returning to the earlier box, and add a counter to stop it going on forever, such as “Third contact?” leading to a manager.

Handoffs between people are the other common wrinkle. If Priya handles steps 2 to 5 and a manager handles the approval, you can group the boxes into labelled lanes, one per person. Keep the lanes to three or fewer on a single page; beyond that, split the chart.

FAQ

What is a simple sample flow chart?

A simple sample flow chart is a start oval, three to five action rectangles, one or two decision diamonds and an end oval, joined by labelled arrows. Tom’s late-delivery example above uses two ovals, five actions and three diamonds, and fits on a single page.

How many steps should a flow chart have?

Aim for about ten to fifteen shapes per page. If a chart needs more than twenty, the process is probably two processes. Chart the top level on one page and give any complicated step its own separate chart.

Can I make a flow chart on my phone?

Yes. A practical route is to collect the steps as a mind map on your iPhone, check the order in outline view, then redraw the final chart with the standard shapes. Mindmap AI handles the collecting and ordering part, so the drawing is the last, short step.

Should every decision have a yes and a no?

Yes. Each diamond should have exactly two exits, labelled “Yes” and “No.” If you need a third option, you have two decisions stacked together. Split them into two diamonds so every path stays easy to follow.

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