Jawad Chafai · Blog · Free tools · LinkedIn

Flowmap: Free Process Mapping Tool for Business Analysts

Free process mapping editor for business analysts. Draw swimlanes, BPMN 2.0, SIPOC and value stream maps, then get lead time, process cycle efficiency, handoffs, rework loops and waste. Runs in your browser, no account, nothing uploaded.

Open the editor

Templates

• Swimlane process map: Lead to cash across Marketing, Sales, RevOps and Finance, with a rework loop and a pain point.
• As-is and to-be: Invoice approval today and after the redesign, on two pages you can compare.
• BPMN 2.0: Purchase request approval: a pool, three lanes, events, tasks and gateways.
• Value stream map: Quote to order with work time, queues and the lead time ladder.
• SIPOC: Scope a process before you map it: suppliers, inputs, steps, outputs, customers.
• Fishbone: Root causes of leads going cold, under six categories.
• User story map: A self-serve trial: activities across the top, stories split into releases.
• RACI matrix: Who does, owns, advises and is told, for a CRM change request.

What the analysis tells you

Lead time on the critical path

The longest route from start to end, adding each step's work time and the wait before it. This is how long a customer or colleague actually waits.

Process cycle efficiency

Value-adding work divided by lead time. Most office processes sit under 10%: the rest is waiting. It tells you where the time goes before anyone argues about it.

Handoffs between lanes

Every arrow that crosses from one owner to another. Each one adds a queue and a chance for work to be dropped.

Rework loops

Arrows that send work back to an earlier step, like a contract returned for changes. Fixing the cause upstream usually beats speeding up the loop.

Dead ends and loose shapes

Steps where the flow stops without an end event, shapes connected to nothing, and decisions with only one way out.

Waste to remove or automate

Steps you mark as non-value-adding, ranked by time, and the longest waits in the map. Export the full step list as CSV for your report.

How to map and analyse a process

• Start from a template or a blank page. Pick one of the templates below, or open the editor and drag shapes from the library on the left. Swimlanes, BPMN and flowchart shapes are loaded already.
• Add times, cost and value type to your steps. Select one or more steps, then Analyze > Set step details. Work time and wait take plain minutes or 2h, 1.5d. Mark each step as value-adding, business-required or non-value-adding.
• Run the analysis. Analyze > Process analysis shows lead time, efficiency, handoffs and a list of what to look at. Click any finding to select those steps on the map. Show times on steps puts a small badge on each one.
• Save, export or share. File > Save keeps a .drawio file on your computer. Export PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, Analyze > Export steps as CSV for the numbers, and Share for a link that carries a copy of the diagram.

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. No account, no trial, no paid tier. It is one of the free tools I keep at tools.chafaijawad.com.

Are my diagrams uploaded anywhere?

No. The editor runs in your browser tab and sends nothing to any server. You save diagrams to your own computer as .drawio files, or in your browser's storage. The page is served with a security policy that blocks it from sending data to any other site.

Can my team edit a diagram together?

Not live at the same time, which would need a server holding your diagrams. To share, use Share in the editor: it packs the whole diagram into a link, and whoever opens it gets their own copy. For a shared working file, keep the .drawio file in your team drive and open it from there.

Can I open draw.io or diagrams.net files?

Yes. Flowmap is built on the open-source draw.io editor, so .drawio files open with File > Open from > Device, and files you save open in draw.io too.

How is the lead time worked out?

Each step can have a work time and a wait before it starts. The analysis finds the longest route from a start to an end, ignoring arrows that loop back, and adds the work and waits along it. Process cycle efficiency is the value-adding work on that route divided by its lead time.

Does it support BPMN?

Yes. The BPMN library on the left has BPMN 2.0 events, tasks, gateways, pools and lanes, and the analysis reads BPMN events and gateways like any other start, end or decision.

What can I export?

PNG, SVG and PDF images for slides and documents, the .drawio file, and a CSV of every step with its lane, value type, times, cost and next steps.

Is this draw.io?

It is built on the open-source draw.io editor, used under the Apache 2.0 licence, with templates, process analysis and privacy settings added for business analysts. Flowmap is an independent project and is not affiliated with draw.io.

Jawad Chafai, RevOps and GTM engineer in Morocco. Salesforce Certified Administrator and Salesforce Certified Associate.