Data Flow Map

The Data Flow Map gives Data Protection Officers, compliance analysts, and privacy managers a single interactive diagram showing exactly how personal data moves through each processing activity — which data sources, systems, vendors, and groups of people are involved, and how they connect. This article explains how to read the map, draw and remove connections, and use it confidently during audits and regulatory inspections.

The Data Flow Map is the one place in DPMS where you can see a processing activity's entire data ecosystem at a glance. Instead of piecing together who is affected, which systems are involved, and which vendors receive data by reading through four separate tabs, you get a single interactive diagram that shows all of those elements as colour-coded nodes joined by directional arrows. Compliance officers and DPOs use it to prepare for regulatory inspections, verify that documented flows match reality, and correct or extend connections as the organisation's processing activities evolve.

How to open it

From a ROPA record (the most common route):

In the left sidebar, go to Records of Processing Activities.
Click any ROPA record to open its detail view.
In the left-side tab menu, click the Data Flow tab.

The page URL updates to /ropa/{id}?tab=data-flow and the map loads with the current record pre-selected — no extra search needed.

As a standalone page:
Navigate directly to Data Flow Map in the sidebar under the Records of Processing Activities section. This opens /data/flow without any pre-selected record, which is useful when you want to compare data flows across several processing activities in one session.

Permissions you need: You must have read access to Data Flow records to see the screen at all. To draw new connections or delete existing ones, you also need write access to Data Flow records. If your account does not have read access, DPMS shows a "Forbidden" page instead of the map. If you have read access but not write access, the map is fully visible but dragging nodes and deleting edges are silently blocked.

Minimum display size: The map requires a screen (or browser window) of at least 1 024 px wide and 768 px tall. If your browser zoom is set above 100 %, the available pixel area may fall below this threshold and DPMS will show a "screen not supported" message. Reducing the browser zoom level is the quickest fix.

What you see

The screen is divided into two main areas: a wide, rounded control bar near the top of the page and a large interactive canvas below it.

The control bar is split into three sections. On the left you see the "Data Map" title — this is purely a label confirming which screen you are on. In the centre sits a pill-shaped search box labelled Select a process, where you choose (or switch) the ROPA record whose data flow you want to see. On the right, once a record is selected, you will find four colour-coded summary badges — one for each element type — showing counts at a glance, along with zoom controls, a Maximize button, and (when you arrived from a ROPA record) a Close button.

The canvas fills the rest of the page and shows a dotted light-blue grid. Nodes — small pill-shaped cards — represent individual elements linked to the selected ROPA record. They are arranged automatically in horizontal rows from top to bottom: Affected Persons (teal), Data Collection Points (green), Assets (purple), and Vendors (orange). Directed lines (edges) connect nodes to represent the flow of personal data.

When you access the Data Flow tab from inside a ROPA record, the full detail-view shell remains visible around the canvas: the left-side Element Menu with all tabs, breadcrumbs at the top, and the sticky header with the ROPA's status dropdown, responsible person selector, and the Activity Log clock icon.

Working with this screen

Reviewing a data flow during an audit

When you arrive from a ROPA record's Data Flow tab, the diagram loads automatically — no extra action required. Within a few seconds the canvas populates with nodes grouped by type. You can immediately answer questions like "which vendor receives this data?" or "how many assets are involved?" just by reading the diagram.

The four overview badges in the top-right of the control bar give you a quick headcount: for example, "2 Affected Persons · 1 Data Collection Point · 3 Assets · 2 Vendors". These are display-only and update whenever you switch to a different ROPA record.

To trace the connections from one specific element, click its node card. The node highlights in its accent colour and all edges connected to it turn solid black with directional arrows, so you can follow the exact path data takes from that point. Click the same node again to deselect and clear the highlighting.

If an auditor asks who last changed the data flow, click the clock icon (Activity Log) in the top-right corner of the screen. A slide-in panel opens showing every recorded change to this ROPA record — including data flow saves — with timestamps and user names.

Drawing a new connection after onboarding a new vendor or system

Before you can draw a connection, both elements must already be linked to the ROPA record on the relevant tab (Vendors, Assets, Affected Persons, or Data Collection Points). If a node is missing from the map, go to that tab first and add the element there.

Once both nodes are visible on the canvas, make sure you have write access to Data Flow records — otherwise dragging will have no effect.

Click the source node to orient yourself and confirm which edges it already has.
Click and drag the source node toward the target node. As you move it across the canvas, a semi-transparent copy follows your cursor.
When the two nodes overlap, the target node starts to wiggle — this is DPMS confirming the connection is valid and will be made when you release.
Release the mouse button. The source node snaps back to its original position and a new directed arrow appears connecting the two nodes.

The connection is saved automatically to the backend within about 200 milliseconds. There is no Save button — the save is silent and immediate.

Heads up: Not all connection types are permitted. Vendors can connect to Assets and Data Collection Points, but you cannot draw a direct arrow from a Vendor to an Affected Person. If the target node does not wiggle when you overlap it, the connection type is not allowed — simply release and try a different combination.

Heads up: Dragging a node does not move it permanently. Nodes always snap back to their layout positions after the drag interaction. The drag gesture is exclusively how you draw connections.

Removing an incorrect connection

If a data flow arrow is wrong — perhaps a vendor relationship has ended or a connection was drawn by mistake — you can delete it in a few steps:

Click the node at the start of the incorrect edge. The node highlights and all its connected edges turn black with directional arrows. A small circular X icon appears near the beginning of each active edge.
Click the X icon on the edge you want to remove. The arrow disappears from the canvas.
The corrected diagram is auto-saved within 200 milliseconds.

Tip: The X icons are invisible until you select a node. If you cannot find the delete option, click a node first — the X icons will then appear on all edges attached to it.

Comparing data flows across multiple ROPA records

If you want to check whether a particular vendor or asset appears in several different processing activities, open the standalone Data Flow Map at Data Flow Map in the left sidebar (not from inside a specific ROPA record).

The canvas starts empty. Click Select a process, type the name of the first processing activity, and choose it from the dropdown. The canvas loads its diagram. Note which vendor or asset nodes appear. When you are done, click the X on the selected-process chip below the search box to clear the view, then search for and select the next processing activity. Repeat as needed.

Tip: This manual comparison works well for a handful of records. For systematic analysis across many records, use DPMS's reporting features.

Navigating between ROPA records while reviewing data flows

When you are inside a ROPA record's detail view, the breadcrumbs at the top show Records of Processing Activities → [Record Name] → Data Flow. You can:

Click Records of Processing Activities in the breadcrumbs to return to the full list.
Use the left and right chevron arrows next to the record name to step to the previous or next ROPA record in your current filter/sort order — useful when conducting a bulk review without returning to the index page each time.
Click Close (the black button in the control bar) to return to the ROPA record's General tab.

Field reference

The control bar's search component has one significant input:

Select a process — Type any part of a ROPA record's name. Results appear after a short pause (about 750 ms). Select the record you want to visualise. Required before the canvas shows anything. If you arrived from a ROPA record, this field is pre-filled automatically.

The status dropdown and responsible person selector in the sticky header belong to the ROPA record itself, not to the data flow:

Status dropdown — Sets the ROPA record's lifecycle status (Draft, Active, Inactive, Review). You can update this directly from the Data Flow tab without switching to the General tab.
Responsible person — The person(s) accountable for this processing activity. Click the field to open a multi-select dropdown and update the assignment.

Zoom and navigation controls

The zoom strip in the top-right of the control bar gives you fine control over the canvas view:

− (Zoom Out) — Reduces the zoom by 10 % per click, down to a minimum of 10 %. Use this when the diagram is large and overflows the visible area.
Zoom level badge — Shows the current zoom level rounded to the nearest 10 % (e.g., "90 %"). Non-interactive; useful for keeping screenshots consistent.
+ (Zoom In) — Increases the zoom by 10 % per click, up to a maximum of 200 %. Use this to read small node labels more clearly.
Maximize button (four-arrows icon) — A single click resets the zoom to 90 %. A quick double-click fits all nodes into the visible canvas area, regardless of how far you have panned. Use this whenever you lose track of where the nodes are.

How this connects to the rest of DPMS

The Data Flow Map is a read-and-verify layer on top of data you entered elsewhere. It does not create ROPA records, vendors, assets, affected persons, or data collection points — those are managed in their own sections of DPMS. The map simply visualises and lets you record the directional relationships between elements that have already been linked to a ROPA record.

This means: if the diagram looks sparse or empty, the fix is not on this screen. Go to the relevant tab on the ROPA record (Affected Persons, Data Collection Points, Assets, or Vendors) and add the missing elements there. Once you return to the Data Flow tab, the new nodes will be available on the canvas.

Every connection you draw or delete is auto-saved as part of the ROPA record's data flow document. Downstream reports and exports that reference data flow information will reflect your changes within seconds.

The Activity Log available from this screen records all changes to the ROPA record, giving you a complete audit trail. If a colleague is editing the same ROPA record at the same time, DPMS detects the conflict and may automatically reload the screen to prevent one person's changes from overwriting another's — so coordinate with colleagues when editing shared records.

Tips & common pitfalls

Heads up: On the standalone /data/flow page, the canvas is blank until you search for and select a ROPA record. Most users find it less confusing to start from the Data Flow tab inside a specific ROPA record, where the selection happens automatically.

Heads up: Dragging a node draws a connection — it does not move the node permanently. Nodes snap back after every drag. This surprises almost every new user.

Auto-save is invisible. There is no Save button and no "unsaved changes" warning. Every connection you create or delete is saved to the backend automatically. You cannot accidentally lose changes by navigating away — but you also cannot "undo" a change by closing the tab.
Delete edges by clicking a node first. The X icons that let you delete connections are hidden until you click a node to select it. Click the node, then click the X on the edge you want to remove.
Vendor → Affected Person connections are not possible by design. This reflects the data protection principle that vendors receive data through systems, not directly from data subjects. If you need to document such a relationship, reconsider the structure of your processing activity.
Check your browser zoom if you see a "screen not supported" message. The map requires at least 1 024 × 768 pixels of usable screen space. Setting your browser zoom to 90 % or lower usually resolves this on standard laptop screens.
Concurrent editing warning. If a colleague saves a change to the same ROPA record while you are working on its data flow, the screen may reload automatically. Any drag you were in the middle of will be lost. Communicate with your team before editing data flows of frequently-updated records.