I’m a visual learner. I suspect that many of you are. So why is it that most quality systems are chock full of words and seldom include pretty pictures? The spirit of ISO 13485 is utilizing a process approach. When I hear this, my engineering mind begins to think flowchart. Is it possible to change conventional wisdom regarding quality system procedures? I’m not suggesting a wordless document but do think there are opportunities to improve procedures (and comprehension thereof) with process flowcharts and visual stimulus. If I have a job and can point to my step in a flowchart, then I can also see the steps before me and also how I impact steps beyond me.
I linked to this article from MD&DI in an earlier post. But I think it’s a really good piece. I like the flowchart provided that maps a document control process. Isn’t it possible that every process can be mapped this simply?