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Simple Team Org Chart
A small engineering team structure:
[CTO — Sarah Chen]
|
┌───────────┴───────────┐
[VP Engineering — Mark Davis] [VP Product — Lisa Park]
|
┌─────────┼─────────┐
[Frontend Lead] [Backend Lead] [DevOps Lead]
[— Alex Kim] [— Jordan Lee] [— Sam Rivera]
| |
[Dev 1] [Dev 2] [Dev 3] [Dev 4]
In the generator, import this as CSV or build it manually. Each box shows name and title. Connecting lines show reporting relationships. Color-code by department: blue for Engineering, green for Product.
CSV Import Format
Import employee data from a spreadsheet:
name,title,department,manager,email
Sarah Chen,CTO,Executive,,sarah@example.com
Mark Davis,VP Engineering,Engineering,Sarah Chen,mark@example.com
Lisa Park,VP Product,Product,Sarah Chen,lisa@example.com
Alex Kim,Frontend Lead,Engineering,Mark Davis,alex@example.com
Jordan Lee,Backend Lead,Engineering,Mark Davis,jordan@example.com
Sam Rivera,DevOps Lead,Engineering,Mark Davis,sam@example.com
Chris Wang,Senior Frontend Dev,Engineering,Alex Kim,chris@example.com
Taylor Brown,Frontend Dev,Engineering,Alex Kim,taylor@example.com
Morgan Smith,Senior Backend Dev,Engineering,Jordan Lee,morgan@example.com
The generator reads the manager column to build the hierarchy automatically. No need to manually draw connections — the tool infers the tree structure from the data.
Department Color Coding
Assign colors to departments for visual clarity:
Department colors:
Executive: #1a1a2e (dark navy)
Engineering: #0066cc (blue)
Product: #00aa44 (green)
Design: #cc6600 (orange)
Marketing: #9900cc (purple)
Sales: #cc0000 (red)
HR: #006666 (teal)
Finance: #666600 (olive)
Color coding makes it immediately obvious which department each person belongs to, especially useful in large org charts where the hierarchy spans many levels.
Matrix Organization with Dotted Lines
Showing dual reporting relationships:
[Engineering Manager] [Project Manager]
| |
[Software Engineer] ·············· [Project Team]
| (dotted line = project reporting)
[Engineering Team]
(solid line = functional reporting)
Solid lines represent primary (functional) reporting. Dotted lines represent secondary (project or matrix) reporting. This is common in consulting firms, agencies, and companies with cross-functional project teams.
Vacancy and Open Position Tracking
Mark unfilled roles in the org chart:
[VP Engineering — Mark Davis]
|
┌───────┼───────┐
[Frontend Lead] [Backend Lead] [OPEN — DevOps Lead]
[— Alex Kim] [— Jordan Lee] [Hiring Q2 2024]
Open positions are displayed with a dashed border and different background color (typically light gray or yellow). This communicates hiring needs to stakeholders and helps new employees understand the planned team structure.
Large Organization — Filtered View
For a 500-person company, use filtering to show relevant sections:
- Filter by department: show only Engineering (150 people)
- Filter by level: show only Director and above (25 people)
- Filter by location: show only New York office (80 people)
- Search by name: find a specific person and highlight their position
- Collapse branches: hide sub-teams to see the top-level structure
The zoom and pan controls let you navigate large charts. Start at the top level and drill down into specific departments as needed.
Succession Planning View
Show potential successors for key leadership roles:
[CEO — Robert Johnson]
Successors:
1. Sarah Chen (CTO) — Ready now
2. Mark Davis (VP Eng) — Ready in 2 years
[CTO — Sarah Chen]
Successors:
1. Mark Davis (VP Eng) — Ready in 1 year
2. Lisa Park (VP Product) — Ready in 2 years
Succession planning data is shown in a separate, access-controlled view. Only HR and senior leadership can see this information. Export as a PDF for board presentations.
Org Chart for Onboarding
Create a simplified view for new employee onboarding:
Your Team:
Your Manager: Alex Kim (Frontend Lead)
Your Skip-Level: Mark Davis (VP Engineering)
Your Peers: Chris Wang, Taylor Brown, [Your Name]
Related Teams:
Backend Team (Jordan Lee) — you'll work closely with them
Design Team (Pat Johnson) — provides design specs
DevOps Team (Sam Rivera) — manages deployments
Key Contacts:
HR: Morgan Williams
IT Support: helpdesk@example.com
Finance/Expenses: finance@example.com
Export as an interactive HTML page for the company intranet. New employees can click on any box to see contact details and a brief bio.
Exporting for Different Uses
- PNG — Embed in PowerPoint presentations, Confluence pages
- SVG — Scalable for large format printing, web embedding
- PDF — Print for physical display, attach to HR documents
- Interactive HTML — Embed in company intranet with click-to-expand
- CSV — Export current structure for HR system sync
<!-- Embedding interactive org chart in an intranet page -->
<iframe
src="/org-chart/engineering.html"
width="100%"
height="600"
title="Engineering Team Org Chart">
</iframe>
Version History — Tracking Org Changes
The version history shows how the organization has evolved:
March 2024:
+ Added: DevOps Lead (Sam Rivera) — new hire
+ Added: Senior Backend Dev (Morgan Smith) — promotion
~ Changed: Alex Kim promoted from Senior Dev to Frontend Lead
- Removed: Former VP Engineering (left company)
January 2024:
+ Added: VP Product (Lisa Park) — new hire
~ Changed: Engineering team restructured into 3 sub-teams
Q4 2023:
+ Added: 5 new engineers (team growth)
Compare any two versions to see what changed. Export the change history as a report for HR records or board presentations showing organizational growth.