In a flow chart, is there a convention on directionality of true/false conditions from a decision?

Question

When writing a flow chart, I can understand that it is a best practice to generally read left-to-right or right-to-left per locale, and/or top-to-bottom and generally for the directional flow of the chart to be consistent.

But, when it comes to a diamond ("decision") element and its yes/no or true/false result arrows, is there a convention as to which one ought to be pointing down and which one to the side?

As far as I know, no. But I can't say that with any authority. Either way, whether there is or isn't - the important thing is to be consistent - even if your graph is different from many others, it will still be readable. — Baldrickk, Feb 15 '19 at 12:32
No. You just “label” the outgoing arrows with T/F or Y/N and the like to say which is which. — PhD, Feb 17 '19 at 17:18

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 04 '19 at 15:59

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Yes, there is such a convention, but it is not based on true or false. The "happy flow" will always be pointing down and any exceptional or side-tracked flow will be pointing left/right.

E.g. if you have a decision based on whether you are having to set up a new client or use an existing client, the existing client is the nice direction ==> go down.

answered Mar 04 '19 at 15:59

Menno Hölscher

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Thank you very much. I never found this information searching online. – Douglas Held Mar 04 '19 at 17:57

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 04 '19 at 14:19

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No, there is no such convention. I have even seen flowcharts where both the yes and no (or true and false) arrows attached to the side of a decision element.

It all depends on how you can best get the idea across that you are showing in the diagram.

answered Mar 04 '19 at 14:19

Bart van Ingen Schenau

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In a flow chart, is there a convention on directionality of true/false conditions from a decision?

2 Answers2