Is there a way to create a flow chart that leads to a result depending on how the user answers?

anadu
anadu
edited 05/01/24 in Smartsheet Basics

Hi! I currently work in a manufacturing plant where in order to quote a new project we need to create a chart showing the number of people and the line speed required to run the project. I am currently the only one on my team that has the knowledge to make these, but would love to create a flow chart type system where anyone with the proper information can answer a set of questions that lead them to more questions, eventually ending with the line speed and number of people needed.

Flow chart may not be the right word, I'm looking for something dynamic they can click through. Maybe a workflow or something similar. Thank you!

Answers

  • Paul Newcome
    Paul Newcome ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Are you able to provide some sample screenshots?

  • bisaacs
    bisaacs ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hey @anadu,

    Have you looked at maybe using a form with conditional logic? You could have the user answer questions, and then show other questions based on that until you have all the necessary information.

    Once the form is submitted and the info gets entered into a new row, use column formulas to indicate the # of people and line speed.

    Finally, have an automation workflow send an email to the user who submitted the form with the # of people required and line speed that was populated using the column formula.

    Hopefully this makes sense! If not I would do some of the self-guided Smartsheet University trainings that go over some of these topics to get you a better idea of what all of those things are and how they work.

    If my response was helpful in any way (or answered your question) please be sure to upvote it, mark it as awesome, or mark it as the accepted answer!

    I'm always looking to connect with other industry professionals, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well!

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi,

    I hope you're well and safe!

    Can you elaborate and share some screenshots? (Please delete/replace any confidential/sensitive information before sharing.) That would make it easier to help.

    Did that work/help?

    I hope that helps!

    Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

    Best,

    Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

    Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up, Awesome, or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

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  • Hi Everyone, thank you for the responses! Attached is a screenshot of the layout I currently make for our labor. Since our projects are custom, our production lines are fairly modular. So therefore, I'm looking to make something where I ask the user, "is there a collar" or "will there be cello wrapping," and this flow will automatically increase the labor count by a number and then adjust the PPH (pieces per hour) accordingly. Does this make it a bit more clear?

    I also don't need the final product to look like this, it's just the way we've been doing it. The main goal is to get a final head count and PPH. Does this make it a bit more clear what I'm hoping to achieve?

  • @bisaacs that's a great idea! I'll give it a try and see how my team feels about it. I'm still new to Smartsheet but have worked a little bit with forms. I'll get started with that and definitely continue to use Smartsheet university to help. Thanks a lot!

  • bisaacs
    bisaacs ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hey @anadu,

    I think using a form would be perfect in this scenario. What I would probably do as well, is create helper columns for each question to determine the # of people for each part of the line where the labor count is > 1 (since it seems like it can vary for some parts of the line), then a final column that adds up all those helper columns and the
    "Yes" responses to give you the total number of people.

    So it might look something like this:

    =COUNTIF([Question 1]@row, "Yes") + COUNTIF([Question 2]@row, "Yes") + [Helper column 1]@row + COUNTIF([Question 4]@row, "Yes)….

    Good Luck with it!

    If my response was helpful in any way (or answered your question) please be sure to upvote it, mark it as awesome, or mark it as the accepted answer!

    I'm always looking to connect with other industry professionals, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well!