after putting ourselves in the users
shoes we're ready to create user flow
diagrams this first way of sketching out
the flow of your app was created by the
team at Basecamp over 10 years ago the
notation we use looks like this each
block represents an interaction above
the bar is what the user sees and below
the bar is what they do the arrow
indicates that they move to another page
after performing the action you can also
use dotted lines to indicate alternate
actions here's a simple example if
you're not sure where to start a common
pattern in real-time apps is to begin
with a visual overview page and then
drill down into more detail now go ahead
and sketch out your app user flow on a
whiteboard or a blank piece of paper
we highly recommend showing your user
flow diagrams to your end users or even
just to other members of your team it's
a great way to get feedback on your
ideas early and to minimize rework once
you've built the app
