diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index 1e91fbdde..69a014df1 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
     "sphinx.ext.napoleon",
     "sphinx.ext.viewcode",
     "sphinx_autodoc_typehints",  # must be loaded after napoleon
+    "sphinx-mermaid",
     "sphinx-pydantic",
     "sphinx_design",
     "sphinxcontrib.details.directive",
diff --git a/docs/explanation/parts.rst b/docs/explanation/parts.rst
index 66f0d8f07..b44de3cfa 100644
--- a/docs/explanation/parts.rst
+++ b/docs/explanation/parts.rst
@@ -31,6 +31,31 @@ describe a build process typically accept specifications of parts in YAML format
 mostly-declarative format. Libraries that use parts may use the underlying
 data structures to describe them.
 
+.. mermaid ::
+
+    graph LR
+
+    subgraph Part
+    $CRAFT_PART_SRC
+    $CRAFT_PART_BUILD
+    $CRAFT_PART_INSTALL
+    end
+
+    $CRAFT_PROJECT_DIR
+    --->|pull| $CRAFT_PART_SRC
+    --->|build| $CRAFT_PART_BUILD
+    --->|build| $CRAFT_PART_INSTALL
+    --->|stage| $CRAFT_STAGE
+    --->|prime| $CRAFT_PRIME
+
+    $CRAFT_PROJECT_DIR
+    --->|overlay| $CRAFT_OVERLAY
+    --->|stage| $CRAFT_STAGE
+
+    $CRAFT_PART_INSTALL
+    --->|organize| $CRAFT_PART_INSTALL
+
+
 Describing a part
 -----------------
 
diff --git a/docs/requirements.txt b/docs/requirements.txt
index 3a536cd7e..be5292434 100644
--- a/docs/requirements.txt
+++ b/docs/requirements.txt
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Sphinx==5.3.0
 sphinx-autobuild==2021.3.14
 sphinx-autodoc-typehints==1.20.0
 sphinx-jsonschema==1.19.1
+sphinx-mermaid==0.0.8
 sphinx-pydantic==0.1.1
 sphinxcontrib-applehelp==1.0.2
 sphinx_design==0.3.0