How to's

Starting BowTieXP gives you a screen that looks similar to this.

Treeview

To the left is the treeview. This is where all your bowtie data is stored. Not only the bowtie diagrams, but also activities, document links and the lookup tables with effectiveness scales, barrier types, job titles and much more.

Diagram

The largest window is the diagram window that already has an empty bowtie diagram in it. To start your bowtie, the easiest is to use this empty bowtie.

Step 1: Double click on either the hazard or top event. This brings up the Editor Window.
Step 2: Edit the hazard and top event names and click OK. The other fields are optional and we won’t go into them here.

Adding a threat:

Step 1: Hover the mouse over the left side of the top event. A green plus button will appear.
Step 2: Click on the plus button to open the Editor Window.
Step 3: In the Editor window, give the new threat a name and click OK.

To add a consequence, follow the same three steps only now you click on the plus button that appears on the right side of the top event.

TIP: You can also double click on an existing threat or consequence to edit it.

Step 1: Hover the mouse over the right side of the threat. A green plus button will appear.
Step 2: Click on the plus button to open the Editor Window.
Step 3: In the Editor Window, give the new barrier a name and click OK.

TIP: You can also double click on an existing barrier to edit it.

Step 1: Hover the mouse over the bottom of the barrier. A green plus button will appear.
Step 2: Click on the plus button to open the Editor Window.
Step 3: In the Editor Window, give the new escalation factor a name and click OK.

TIP: You can also double click on an existing escalation factor to edit it.

Step 1: Hover the mouse over the right side of the escalation factor. A green plus button will appear.
Step 2: Click on the plus sign to open the Editor Window.
Step 3: In the Editor Window, give the new barrier a name and click OK.

If you look in the Treeview, you can see a heading called ‘locations’. You can think of locations as categories to order your bowties. For instance, if you have multiple buildings, assets or departments, you can add these as locations and then add bowties to each location.

To add a location follow these steps:
Step 1: Right click on locations and select “New Location…”.
Step 2: Give the location a name and click OK.
Step 3: Right click on a location name.
Step 4: Select “New Hazard…” to start a new bowtie diagram.
Step 5: Fill in your hazard and top event and start your new bowtie diagram.