Process flowchart
Safety gate · before any work
- Wear the required PPE, keep the bench clear, handle equipment only as directed, and know where the eyewash, sink, and spill kit are before you start.
- Human samples and data stay private: label with a code, never a name, and dispose of materials in the correct waste container, then wash your hands.
Do now
Create a process flowchart that maps patient movement through your prototyped ER, applying human-factors principles.
- Hand in
- Patient-flow process flowchart using standard symbols, annotated with one human-factors principle, and verified against the Wednesday floor plan.
- Where
- Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
When a confused patient reaches the fork in your ER between 'check in here' and 'emergencies this way,' does your flowchart send them the right direction without a staff member having to catch the mistake?
Create a process flowchart that maps patient movement through your prototyped ER, applying human-factors principles.
- • Your flowchart uses correct symbols and matches the .
- • You applied at least one human-factors principle.
- In a flowchart, a diamond means a decision (a yes/no question) and a rectangle means a step. Draw one diamond and write inside it a yes/no question a patient must answer the moment they walk into an ER.
- means designing for how people actually behave when stressed or confused, not how we wish they behaved. Name one thing a person does differently when panicking than when calm.
- 1List the decision points a patient encounters in your design.
- 2Draw the flowchart with standard symbols for steps and decisions.
- 3Apply one human-factors principle to reduce error or confusion.
- 4Verify the flow matches your .
- 5Submit the process flowchart.
What did this day actually feel like?
Process flowchart
The new patient flow through our redesign, next to the old one, so the improvement is visible rather than claimed.
This is where the team contract paid for itself. Two of us wanted different layouts and we had already agreed how to decide, so it took ten minutes instead of the whole period.
Turned in: lab report → Lab Reports folder
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
The same day, drawn.
The new patient flow through our redesign, next to the old one, so the improvement is visible rather than claimed.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
🛠 Get unstuck · pick your level
Lab day: Tier 1 is the whole class at the bench. No extension today.
🔑 Today's words · 5
Tap a word in the lesson for a plain meaning and one example. Recycled into next week's Do-Now.
Do the work · 80-minute blockfirst 5 min = hook▸
💡 Big idea: A flowchart verifies a design, because tracing the decisions a person actually makes while moving reveals confusion points that a static cannot show, so you can fix them before a patient guesses wrong.
- 0-10Review standard flowchart symbols: process, decision, start/end, and connector
- 10-25List every patient-facing decision point in your ER layout
- 25-50Draw the flowchart using correct symbols, tracing the full patient path
- 50-65Apply one human-factors principle: annotate where you changed a step to reduce error or confusion
- 65-75Verify the flowchart matches your ; fix any mismatches
- 75-80Submit the process flowchart
- • Yesterday you built the physical layout. Today you trace the patient path through it and verify that it actually works.
- • A process flowchart using standard symbols is a rigorous way to expose hidden decision points and error traps.
- • You will also apply one human-factors principle -- a research-backed rule about how people move and decide under stress.
- • Flowcharting is a core Lab SOP skill that appears in the WebXam 072125 Lab SOPs strand.
- • The standard flowchart symbols for process steps, decisions, and terminal points.
- • What a human-factors principle is and how applying one to a flow reduces error or confusion.
- • How to verify that a patient-flow flowchart matches the corresponding .
Design brief, floor plan logic, staffing, process flow, safety, and human factors. · Process flowchart
Day 4 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (find it in Clever, Microsoft sign-in), then do the work below.
Do this: Open Problem 1 in your myPLTW course shell and locate the process-flow or human-factors activity to review the flowchart format and symbol key.
Mark the flowchart activity complete in your tracker after submitting your completed diagram.
The floor-plan model is done; by end of today your patient-flow process flowchart with correct symbols and one applied human-factors principle should be submitted.
Process flowchart using correct symbols, annotated with one applied human-factors principle, and verified against the .
The official PLTW activity stays inside myPLTW. If myPLTW will not open, use F1 and E1-E3 on this page to complete today's local evidence decision, then make up the official activity when access returns. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible through the submission route shown below.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Design brief, floor plan logic, staffing, process flow, safety, and human factors. · Process flowchart
Open Problem 1 in your myPLTW course shell and locate the process-flow or human-factors activity to review the flowchart format and symbol key.
The floor-plan model is done; by end of today your patient-flow process flowchart with correct symbols and one applied human-factors principle should be submitted.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Create a process flowchart that maps patient movement through your prototyped ER, applying human-factors principles.
- List the decision points a patient encounters in your design.
- Draw the flowchart with standard symbols for steps and decisions.
- Apply one human-factors principle to reduce error or confusion.
- Verify the flow matches your .
- Submit the process flowchart.
Lab report: Patient-flow process flowchart using standard symbols, annotated with one human-factors principle, and verified against the Wednesday .
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Use the checklist just below and upload by 11:29 PM for full credit. Absent with an excused absence? You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| List the decision points a patient encounters in your design. | _______ |
| Draw the flowchart with standard symbols for steps and decisions. | _______ |
| Apply one human-factors principle to reduce error or confusion. | _______ |
| Verify the flow matches your . | _______ |
| Submit the process flowchart. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- Your flowchart uses correct symbols and matches the .
- You applied at least one human-factors principle.
- 1Do thisCreate a process flowchart that maps patient movement through your prototyped ER, applying human-factors principles.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisLab report: Patient-flow process flowchart using standard symbols, annotated with one human-factors principle, and verified against the Wednesday floor plan.
- 4Submit it here
- 1Open the drop folder.
- 2Sign in with your district Microsoft account, not a personal one.
- 3Upload the file, named Lastname_Firstname__Assignment Title.
- 4Your own upload panel says Uploaded with a green check: that is your receipt.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Biotechnology for Health (Biomedical Innovations) › Design brief, floor plan logic, staffing, process flow, safety, and human factors. › Lab reportOpen the drop folder
Learn it · deck, reading, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
A scaled model makes abstract design decisions testable, because you cannot measure clearances, check flow, or catch a corridor that is too narrow on a you have not actually drawn to scale.
A flowchart verifies a design, because tracing the decisions a person actually makes while moving reveals confusion points that a static cannot show, so you can fix them before a patient guesses wrong.
A bridge prototype is tested against a load limit, cost limit, and user need before revision.
- Which requirement is a criterion?
- Which limit is a constraint?
- What test result should trigger a redesign?
A design improves when evidence is compared with explicit criteria and constraints.
Biomedical designs also require , ethics, and biological validation beyond a physical prototype test.
- • Bridge requirements map to design criteria.
- • Load results map to E1-E3.
- • Revision maps to the next evidence-based iteration.
Driving question: When a confused patient reaches the fork in your ER between 'check in here' and 'emergencies this way,' does your flowchart send them the right direction without a staff member having to catch the mistake?
What you already know: A scaled model makes abstract design decisions testable, because you cannot measure clearances, check flow, or catch a corridor that is too narrow on a you have not actually drawn to scale.
New idea: A flowchart verifies a design, because tracing the decisions a person actually makes while moving reveals confusion points that a static cannot show, so you can fix them before a patient guesses wrong.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Process flowchart. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Trace the labeled system, test, or design relationship and identify which evidence should trigger revision.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in Process flowchart.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: A design improves when evidence is compared with explicit criteria and constraints.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: When a confused patient reaches the fork in your ER between 'check in here' and 'emergencies this way,' does your flowchart send them the right direction without a staff member having to catch the mistake?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • : A short written plan that states the problem, the user's needs, the requirements, and the limits a design must meet before building begins.
- • : A scaled drawing of a room or building seen from above, showing the layout of walls, equipment, and workspaces.
- • : A step-by-step map of how a task or system moves from start to finish, showing the order of actions and decisions.
- • staffing: The process of determining how many workers with which skills are needed and assigning them to cover the work of an organization.
- • : The study of how people interact with tools, devices, and systems, used to design healthcare equipment and workflows that reduce human error.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
The standard flowchart symbols for process steps, decisions, and terminal points.
Limit: E1 supplies context or an observation; it does not by itself establish the explanation.
A flowchart verifies a design, because tracing the decisions a person actually makes while moving reveals confusion points that a static cannot show, so you can fix them before a patient guesses wrong.
Limit: E2 is a teaching statement or comparison and must be checked against the task evidence.
Your flowchart uses correct symbols and matches the .
Limit: E3 supports only the result or product criterion named here; it cannot justify a broader clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-BFH-2027-02-19 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: biomedical design team member
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from Process flowchart supports before submitting the lab report named on the lesson page.
- • Keep the current design.
- • Revise the feature that misses a criterion.
- • Run one more fair test before choosing.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the lab report.
Claim ceiling: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Process flowchart. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from Process flowchart supports before submitting the lab report named on the lesson page.
Context: A process flowchart is a verification tool, because tracing every decision a person makes as they move reveals whether the physical layout supports them or quietly sets them up to make a mistake at the worst moment.
- • T1: List the decision points a patient encounters in your design.
- • T2: Draw the flowchart with standard symbols for steps and decisions.
- • T3: Apply one human-factors principle to reduce error or confusion.
- • T4: Verify the flow matches your .
- • T5: Submit the process flowchart.
- • E1: The standard flowchart symbols for process steps, decisions, and terminal points.
- • E2: A flowchart verifies a design, because tracing the decisions a person actually makes while moving reveals confusion points that a static cannot show, so you can fix them before a patient guesses wrong.
- • E3: Your flowchart uses correct symbols and matches the .
Measurements: No patient measurement is supplied unless it appears explicitly in E1-E3 or F1. Do not invent a value.
Figure finding: Teaching diagram for Process flowchart. Trace the labeled system, test, or design relationship and identify which evidence should trigger revision. This is a teaching model, not patient or experimental data.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
- • The solution must address the stated need in Process flowchart.
- • The decision must be supported by E1-E3.
- • The final product must make the success criteria visible.
- • Complete the work inside the 80-minute block.
- • Use only supplied or teacher-approved materials and evidence.
- • Do not trade , accessibility, or privacy for speed.
- • and evidence quality: must pass before scoring other criteria.
- • User need and effectiveness: highest scored criterion.
- • Time, cost, and ease of use: compare only after and effectiveness pass.
Test evidence: For each option, record the E1-E3 result that supports or fails each criterion. Do not assign a score without a named observation.
- Version or option tested
- Criterion met or missed
- Evidence ID and result
- Revision made
- Reason for the revision
- Need and user
- Criteria and constraints
- Chosen option and evidence
- Test result
- Revision and reason
Students often think Students think a flowchart just restates the , so if the rooms are placed well the flow is automatically fine.. The trap: The trap is assuming good rooms guarantee good flow. A layout can be spatially perfect and still fail a person, because the flowchart tracks decisions and moments of confusion that a room layout cannot show. Two rooms next to each other on the plan can still leave a stressed patient guessing which door is theirs, so the flowchart must be checked against the plan, not assumed from it.
My flow maps a patient from arrival to discharge, with the time each step takes:
- Arrival and check-in: 4 min
- Triage: 6 min
- Wait for room: 38 min
- Exam by provider: 12 min
- Tests and results: 25 min
- Discharge: 5 min
Bottleneck call: 'Wait for room' is the bottleneck because it is the longest step and it is a queue (patients pile up there), not actual care. My redesign idea is a fast-track area for low-acuity patients so they do not wait for a full room.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the ER prototype process-flow step: a mapped patient pathway and an identified bottleneck to redesign.
- State the question and method.
- Present the observations and data with units.
- Explain the result, limitations, and next investigation.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit the flowchart image and your one-sentence bottleneck claim on the class site, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Process flowchart. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Classroom documents for this lesson are posted in Schoology. Open Clever, then Schoology, and find each one by the name shown on its card.
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Prototype planning and project management by path:Biomedical-Innovations/Problem-1_Emergency-Room/1.1_Emergency-Room; keywords:gantt, project management. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Prototype planning and project management by path:Biomedical-Innovations/Problem-1_Emergency-Room/00_Problem-Overview; keywords:gantt, design. Score 134. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Prototype planning and project management by path:Biomedical-Innovations/Problem-1_Emergency-Room/1.1_Emergency-Room; keywords:design. Score 134. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
How to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
Check yourself · commit, then reveal▸
Claim ceiling for this check: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Process flowchart. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Your floor plan has triage right beside the entrance, which looks great. But your flowchart shows a patient reaching a fork with no sign and guessing. What does this mismatch prove, and what is the fix?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Go further and get help▸
I can name the procedure's purpose and the evidence I will record. I can identify each named hazard and the control that reduces it: Wear the required PPE, keep the bench clear, handle equipment only as directed, and know where the eyewash, sink, and spill kit are before you start. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Wear the required PPE, keep the bench clear, handle equipment only as directed, and know where the eyewash, sink, and spill kit are before you start.
- • Human samples and data stay private: label with a code, never a name, and dispose of materials in the correct waste container, then wash your hands.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2List the decision points a patient encounters in your design.
- 3Draw the flowchart with standard symbols for steps and decisions.
- 4Apply one human-factors principle to reduce error or confusion.
- 5Verify the flow matches your floor plan.
- 6Submit the process flowchart.
- 7Record each result in the prepared table before interpreting it. Mark missing, repeated, or invalid results truthfully.
- 8Complete the named cleanup and waste route, remove PPE safely, wash hands when required, and confirm the station is ready for the next group.
| Trial or sample ID | Independent condition | Measured result with units | Observation before interpretation | Quality-control note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the procedure, predict the result and cite the rule behind the prediction.
After the procedure, compare the result with the prediction and name one limitation or source of uncertainty.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Today is individual work you can do from home: complete the same target above, then submit your Lab report.
Open the drop folderTurn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
NGSS Engineering Design- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way, on the class site or handed to Mr. Mendoza in class, and confirmed. Not in Schoology: that is where the report-card grade appears later.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.