- BLOCK-AND-FLOW -

Block-and-Flow diagrams are the broad focus of all our products. Most informational, structural, or procedural diagrams are a variation of the the basic block and flow model. This model consists of shapes or symbols, often containing text, interconnected by lines or arrows representing relationships between the objects or the entities they represent.

Block-and-flow diagrams have an intuitive quality that mimics how people think. Their origins come from navigational maps, architecture and construction design, and military planning, where concrete objects and actual movement were most often the focus. Once entrenched, the model grew naturally to include more abstract objects and broader variety of relationships and information flow.

There' no limit to the number or variety of uses for block-and-flow diagrams. Most arise spontaneously for ad-hoc purposes and adopt meaning to suit the specific environment and circumstances. However, many diagramming methodologies and standards have also arisen based on the basic block and flow. These include flowcharts, org charts, data flow diagrams, state diagrams, Entity-Relation (ER) diagrams, and the Unified Modeling Language (UML).