Streamlining Your Ideas with Sankey Charts: A Visual Guide to Understanding Connections and Optimizing Processes

Sankey charts are a powerful visual tool that allow us to make sense of complex systems and understand the flow of materials, information, or resources. They are particularly useful for identifying opportunities to optimize processes and make connections between different parts of an organization.

In this article, we will explore the basics of Sankey chart creation, as well as how to use these charts to make sense of your ideas and improve your processes.

What are Sankey Charts?

Sankey charts are named after the Dutch chemist and cartoonist H.C.G. Sankey. They are a type of flow chart that are focused on showing the direction of flow and the amounts of materials or resources involved in a process. Sankey charts are often used in logistics, supply chain management, and project management to optimize processes and identify opportunities for improvement.

How to Create a Sankey Chart

Creating a Sankey chart is relatively easy, as many diagramming tools, such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Lucidchart, have built-in Sankey chart templates. To create a Sankey chart, follow these steps:

1. Open a Diagramming Tool: Choose a diagramming tool that has a Sankey chart template, such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Lucidchart, and open it in your preferred program.
2. Add Flow Nodes: Place flow nodes at various points along the flowchart to represent the different stages of a process. You can use arrows to show the flow of materials or resources from one node to another.
3. Configure the Chart: Configure the chart settings to fit your needs, such as the type of flow, the color scheme, and the type of node shape.
4. Customize the Diagram: Customize the diagram as needed, such as adding additional flow nodes, changing the flow direction, or modifying the flow arrow style.

Using Sankey Charts to Streamline Your Ideas

Sankey charts are a powerful tool for understanding complex systems and identifying opportunities for improvement. Here are some ways you can use Sankey charts to streamline your ideas:

1. Identify Waste: Sankey charts can help you identify unnecessary steps or waste in your processes. By visualizing the flow of materials or resources, you can see where there are gaps or inefficiencies in your processes and make necessary changes.
2. Prioritize Improvements: After identifying waste, you can prioritize which improvements to make based on the impact they will have on your processes. By visualizing the flow of materials or resources, you can see where the most significant improvements can be made and allocate resources accordingly.
3. Improve Collaboration: Sankey charts can help you bring together different parts of your organization to collaborate on process improvement. By visualizing the flow of materials or resources, you can easily understand how different parts of the organization relate to each other and work together to optimize processes.

Conclusion

Sankey charts are a powerful tool for understanding complex systems and identifying opportunities for improvement. By visualizing the flow of materials or resources, you can make sense of your ideas and optimize processes to improve efficiency and productivity. Whether you are looking to identify waste, prioritize improvements, or improve collaboration, Sankey charts can help you achieve these goals. With a little practice, you can become proficient in creating and using Sankey charts to streamline your ideas and improve your processes.

SankeyMaster

SankeyMaster is your go-to tool for creating complex Sankey charts . Easily enter data and create Sankey charts that accurately reveal intricate data relationships.