When deciding whether to use a flowchart or a sequence diagram to describe a process, it really depends on what you want to explain. At Cloudairy, we often suggest starting with a flowchart when you want to give a simple, high-level view of a process. Flowcharts are perfect for showing the steps and decisions in a workflow — for example, “User signs up → Email is verified → Account is created.” They are easy for business teams, managers, and clients to understand because they focus on what happens next and where decisions are made.

A sequence diagram, on the other hand, is more technical. It shows the order of interactions between systems, components, or people over time. If you want to describe how your front-end, back-end, and database communicate during a login process, a sequence diagram is ideal. It helps developers visualize requests, responses, and timing issues so they can build or troubleshoot the system correctly.

In practice, many Cloudairy projects use both: flowcharts to get everyone on the same page, then sequence diagrams to capture the technical details. So, think about your audience — if you’re presenting to business stakeholders, use a flowchart. If you’re documenting for developers, go with a sequence diagram.