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Software Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
I'm able to show what I'm thinking, including where I plan to put instances and where the database will be used
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very easy to use. I didn't go through any tutorials or any documentation. It was very easy for me to start. It is intuitive. Right after logging in, I was able to quickly just drag and drop and do the things I wanted to do, without any prior knowledge of the solution."
  • "Although it comes with a lot of pre-existing tools, it would help if it had some more design templates. By now, they must know what kinds of things people are trying out, and that should help them create more templates. I would also like to see a little more automation."

What is our primary use case?

I'm a software engineer and one of my tasks is to design a system for how data will flow and how things will be organized. That's what made me start using the solution. If I go one step deeper into this project, I will need to make database-specific diagrams, including class entity and relationships diagrams.

I use it whenever I have to start any new project, any new REST API, any new system design, or microservices. That's when Lucidchart is the primary tool to work with.

Lucidchart is a SaaS-based solution.

How has it helped my organization?

Previously, I used to draw diagrams on my notebook, and sometimes I would make PowerPoint presentations. After getting to know Lucidchart, I have been better able to convey my ideas. I'm able to show what I'm thinking and how I'm thinking, including where I'm planning to put the instances, where I'm planning to use the database, and what I want to include in the database. I am clearly able to show these things to the rest of the team. It is super good.

As a result, it has saved me time, on the order of at least 50 to 60 percent, because of the ease of use. In the long term, if I save that kind of time, and the rest of my team members are able to contribute ideas on the diagrams, it's obviously good for efficiency. I can now focus on other things. I can really focus on the code, which it would have taken a lot more time to get into.

The real-time collaboration, where everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document, is also good. It is easy to understand what other people have done, and it has saved us time. We used to do everything on whiteboards in the office or wherever we met. 

In addition, the ability for people to look at a diagram rather than reading through written documents is helpful. Who reads documents anyway? Rather than reading something and creating imagined diagrams in the mind, why not just get to a diagram directly? That saves a lot of time. If I was spending four hours on something like this previously, over the course of a couple of days, I am now spending two hours on it. That amounts to a significant amount of money saved.

What is most valuable?

It's very easy to use. I didn't go through any tutorials or any documentation. It was very easy for me to start. It is intuitive. Right after logging in, I was able to quickly just drag and drop and do the things I wanted to do, without any prior knowledge of the solution. The intuitive design is my favorite part. I have really enjoyed it, so far. On the left panel I can see everything that I can imagine needing. On top of that, if I miss something, it's still there, I can still access it. It has everything I want.

It makes hierarchies easy to understand. It's not that I haven't seen this type of feature anywhere else, I have, but it's sleek and simple and has fewer colors and that makes it easy to grasp.

It's capabilities for visualizing and understanding workflows make doing so very easy. 

Another positive is that it allows me to share things with my team members and get their input, and then they can also modify it per their requirements. That is good for the overall process and for teamwork. That part is super smooth, and that's while we have been in a culture of remote work because of the pandemic. We don't know when it will be behind us forever, so Lucidchart helps me to build confidence in my design. Using the solution, the designs are not only in my mind, they are in a document, and the rest of the team can always see it. In the current COVID-19 scenario, it is the best thing for sharing ideas, for sharing the designs, for architects, for senior engineers, and everyone.

The fact that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users is also important because different teams use different environments and systems. It's easy to communicate and there is no barrier due to the user's system, and that's always good.

What needs improvement?

Although it comes with a lot of pre-existing tools, it would help if it had some more design templates. By now, they must know what kinds of things people are trying out, and that should help them create more templates. I would also like to see a little more automation.

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Lucidchart
November 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?

I started using Lucidchart a month ago and I'm on the demo version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been good and the solution has been efficient. It's my primary charting tool.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

As of now, it's difficult for me to talk about its scalability. In time, I'll be running into different, more, and larger diagrams. For now, I haven't felt any kind of lag in the existing environment. I haven't had to think about whether Lucidchart would be able to handle a lot more data.

How are customer service and support?

I have not had to use their technical support yet.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Lucidchart was easy and smooth. There was nothing complex about it. I was using it after about 10 to 15 minutes.

So far, there has been no maintenance involved.

What was our ROI?

So far, the investment has been good in terms of time and learning. It has given me good value in return, in terms of time savings and better communication with the team, which, again, has resulted in efficiency and time savings. Time is money, so it has helped me to save a significant amount.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I tried Gliffy but I didn't find it that attractive. Lucidchart has a better UI and UX. The sign-in time was quick and the process was easy and I was directly able to get into the content I wanted to work on. Exporting is also better.

What other advice do I have?

The biggest thing I have learned using Lucidchart is that it's always better to visualize, and help others visualize, what you are imagining or thinking, rather than sharing text or a document. It's on point. The diagrams help. I don't think anybody is interested in reading docs anymore.

I haven't tried any of the integrations so far, but it is good that those capabilities are there. I'll definitely use them, as required by my use cases. 

I have shared Lucidchart work via emails and invites, but it's good that it has a Slack integration because our company is using Slack. I intend on trying that feature, as Slack is good for informal communication. It will save time.

Everybody should be made aware of Lucidchart. People are aware of it already, to some extent, but everybody, including college students, should know about it. It just helps. 

If my use cases run into more complex scenarios and they need more features, I would definitely not hesitate to go for a premium version of  Lucidchart.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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reviewer1609293 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Developer Engineer at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy to set up and work with, with good visuals that save me time and improve my coding
Pros and Cons
  • "Lucidchart's ability to create a visualization that people prefer to look at, over reading written documents, has definitely saved me a lot of time. Moreover, it has helped to make my code bug-free because I no longer have broken endpoints."
  • "The flowcharting feature would be improved if it had some kind of prediction capability that helped to create the diagrams, such as the ability to automatically join components with my database."

What is our primary use case?

I used Lucidchart to design flowcharts for my APIs. 

How has it helped my organization?

Lucidchart was able to help me design the flow of my APIs. They are quite complicated with many conditional flows and many multiple-table interactions. It would have been difficult for me to jump to the code directly, without having the clarity given me by using Lucidchart.

The problem is that it can be difficult to think about exactly what needs to be done, which is why I started using Lucidchart. I thought that it would be better if I have a pictorial representation of the flow that I wanted to implement in my system. After I had this visual, I went on to start coding it.

I have definitely realized efficiencies in the projects that I have used Lucidchart for, and it has had a major impact. As I am designing the flow of data through an API, I sometimes forget to handle some of the base cases or some of the edge cases. More importantly, there could remain some endpoints that are unfinished, or there could be some endpoints that are broken. However, if I am using a pictorial representation, such as with Lucidchart, I always know that at each particular point, I have not missed an aspect of the design that would explain what happens when a particular condition occurs.

Lucidchart's ability to create a visualization that people prefer to look at, over reading written documents, has definitely saved me a lot of time. Moreover, it has helped to make my code bug-free because I no longer have broken endpoints. For example, the system that I am working on now is pseudo-transactional, which is the model for the flows. This means that I should have a rollback mechanism if some particular condition doesn't succeed.

It is easy to check for a particular condition using a standard If and Else combination in code, but there are some scenarios in which there are nested conditions. Solutions need to implement these as well, which is more difficult. However, this is where Lucidchart helps a lot. On every particular flow, it asks me to design a new system that includes an endpoint.

I have experienced a 40% reduction in development time because I don't have to search for the use cases during the coding phase. Specifically, I don't have to search for the edge cases or the base cases because they are designed in a pictorial representation that is easy to follow. I just have to look at the diagram and write the code.

I may write a best-case scenario when I get the data, but the nested decisions or the conditional statements remain unhandled sometimes. There is always a question of what will happen to the flow if something specific occurs, or in some cases, does not occur. For example, if something is missing from the database or one of the tables, it can be difficult to forecast what the consequence will be. In cases such as this, how you react is something that needs to be defined. You should know what will happen, even when conditions result in the worst case. This is why it is best to have a pictorial representation. It will allow you to easily design fallbacks for the system.

It is important to me that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because sometimes when you switch companies, they use a different operating system. At this point, I'm using Linux and Lucidchart is compatible. At some point in time, I may change to another organization or even just change laptops, so I need the functionality to work properly on the other operating system.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the charting, which allows me to visualize the workflows that I will be coding.

What needs improvement?

The flowcharting feature would be improved if it had some kind of prediction capability that helped to create the diagrams, such as the ability to automatically join components with my database. Another example would be having it smartly or automatically add or join conditionals.

For how long have I used the solution?

I only used Lucidchart for two or three days before my trial subscription expired.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I did not experience any issues with stability or performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This product is highly scalable. I didn't have the opportunity to use the presentation feature or collaborate on designing a flowchart or UML diagram or database schema, otherwise, I could have compared it and looked at the behavior.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not been in contact with technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to Lucidchart, I did not use a similar product for this task.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex. I just used the website.

This is not a time-consuming process and I was able to start using it in just a few minutes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have only used the trial version and have not yet paid for it, or explored the pricing options.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

After performing a simple Google search of some flow design tools, Lucidchart was the first result. I tried it and found that it was easy to work with. I've yet to explore the pricing and have not looked at other products.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is considering this product is that if you have business-related documents that you use to implement a solution, it generally takes a lot of time to build. But, if you're using Lucidchart and you have already designed the flow, including a diagrammatic or pictorial representation of what the flow would be like, then it will reduce the time required to build it. Also, the system will be better.

I would rate Lucidchart an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Lucidchart
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Product Designer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Leaderboard
Good performance, user-friendly, easy to create flowcharts and documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "Creating flowcharts and documentation is easy to do and the results are very nice."
  • "I would like to have access to more colorful and more vibrant icons."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use Lucidchart for mobile app development.

How has it helped my organization?

Creating flowcharts and documentation is easy to do and the results are very nice.

I think that this solution is good in terms of its visualizations and it helps to understand process flows and workflows. The flowcharts and wireframes are very nice and easy to use.

The features for creating database schemas and modifying existing data structures are things that I have used a little bit. I find that this is a good tool when working with databases and it helps with strategy planning, ideation, and project planning. 

It is definitely important to use that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users. We have work that is done collaboratively in teams and we need to be able to share between team members. This is important regardless of platform.

Lucidchart allows for real-time collaboration, where multiple users can access the same version of a document. It has improved our project development process because we can discuss a journey map and a flowchart with developers in real-time. Using this tool, we are able to better interact with developers.

This ability to collaborate efficiently and in parallel has saved us time because it makes the job easier for our colleagues and teammates. I would estimate that it saves between three and four hours a day.

What is most valuable?

The entire tool is very good. The wireframing and flowchart are very nice features.

The interface is very user-friendly and supports drag and drop. You don't need to have technology or design knowledge in order to use it. Anybody can work with it.

What needs improvement?

I would like to have access to more colorful and more vibrant icons. Otherwise, the experience is very good.

For how long have I used the solution?

I am new to Lucidchart and have only been using it for a short time.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The performance is very nice. Even when the internet speed is low, it is stable and performs well.

How are customer service and support?

I have not been in contact with technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to implementing Lucidchart, I used SketchUp and SigmaNEST. I switched to Lucidchart because of the user-friendliness. The drag and drop functionality makes it very easy to use.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price and licensing are good.

What other advice do I have?

We do not currently use the integration with other products but it is something that we are planning to do in the future. Similarly, we do not yet use the functionality that allows us to compare versions of documents.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Data Advanced Analytic Specialist at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Simple to learn and use, robust, and facilitates collaboration with colleagues in different time zones
Pros and Cons
  • "In general, this product has improved our organization because it makes accessing up-to-date processes and planning a lot easier."
  • "It would be helpful if there were different options available for organizing the folders, such as having a high-level display with pictures."

What is our primary use case?

A lot of people in my company are using it for mapping processes.

We use it for mapping sales processes and product management processes. We look at a product and map it, including how we interface it through the product life cycle. Personally, I use it a couple of hours a day for project process mapping work.

How has it helped my organization?

In general, this product has improved our organization because it makes accessing up-to-date processes and planning a lot easier.

In terms of documenting things such as processes, systems, and new teams, it's easy to go in and share it with people as you're putting the process down. They can interact with it as well, and make changes at a later date. It stores all of these pages together under one folder and allows others to make changes, and it is also documented.

Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows and workflows are very good. There are lots of different shapes to use, they are easy to connect, easy to drag and drop, and the user interface is good. Changes and updates are also very good.

Overall, it's a very simple and very easy application to learn and also to use.

Lucidchart is integrated with Atlassian and it works fairly seamlessly. It's fairly important to our operation and the way it has been set up, I don't notice the integration.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the user interface. We use it live, so as we're having a conversation and deciding on the process that we're working on, it's easy to map it down, drag and drop components, move the different boxes around, and then add labels and things.

This solution allows for real-time collaboration among users so that everybody is working on the same version of a document, and this has definitely improved our development process. It has saved us time because of the time difference between myself and my colleagues. For example, I work in the UK and I have colleagues that work in Calgary, Canada. There are several hours of difference between us. Whenever we have a meeting in the afternoon, we can sit down and see the same document that we're all working on. We can edit and create processes in the live format, which means that we can maximize the amount of work we can do in this limited window of opportunity.

The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, has saved us time. I estimate that it saves us perhaps five hours per week. The savings comes from the fact that it's all there in front of us and we can refer back to it when we're referencing something else.

What needs improvement?

It would be helpful if there were different options available for organizing the folders, such as having a high-level display with pictures.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for between two and three weeks. The company has been using it for quite a long time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This product is very robust, as far as I can tell.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is very good. You can map a whole product development cycle through sales and interacting with the customer, and probably roadmaps going forward.

It is being used company-wide and I think that most people are probably using it. We have approximately 30 in the UK and in Canada, it is probably 150 more. It seems to be the de facto system and I suppose that as the company expands, the usage will increase.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It took a while to get my password for the license, although that may have been an internal issue rather than an external one. I expected it to be pretty quick but it took a couple of weeks, through our IT people.

Once I had my password, all that was required was for me to log onto it. I've also been given links that were shared by a couple of colleagues that I was working on things with.

What other advice do I have?

I probably use 20% of the features available in the product. I'm sure there is a lot more than I could be using it for and over time, I'll figure out more of it.

My advice for anybody who is looking into implementing Lucidchart is that if it fits what you want to do, I recommend it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user713805 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Tester at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Real User
​This product allowed me to work closely with design team and merge the perspective of Quality Assurance and Product Design easily

What is most valuable?

The ability to work collaboratively, and the general UX of the product.

How has it helped my organization?

This product allowed me to work closely with design team and merge the perspective of Quality Assurance and Product Design easily.

What needs improvement?

I'd prefer this software to be an operating system, not a web tool, as I'd switch to LucidOS, if it existed, in seconds.

For how long have I used the solution?

Approximately eight months of my career consisted of activities which were made simpler with Lucidchart.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Yes, minor, and only on loading graphical files "several meters long".

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No.

How are customer service and technical support?

The voice of the community has been heard and taken into account, while improving Lucidchart.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Yes, I did, and I have used similar software at my previous jobs. None of those were even half as easy to use as Lucidchart, and I am a strong advocate for dropping those other software solutions for Lucidchart.

How was the initial setup?

Semi-instant setup with no unnecessary complexities.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I pay for this software even while I do not plan on using it for next few months -- as the perspective of having no access to these features is out of my consideration.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have used several different tools of this type before, but once I encountered the beauty of Lucidchart, I knew I'd stay with it.

What other advice do I have?

Just give it to your designers and wait for miracles to happen.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1619913 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Business Analyst at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy to communicate amongst technical and non-technical stakeholders to draw everything out so that we are all on the same page
Pros and Cons
  • "Documenting complicated workflows and technology integrations so that we can go back to it has also been a benefit. And without having to dig into a lot of technical, the codes, the documents, I can simply understand on a high level what's happening."
  • "In terms of improvement, there can be more templates. There are good templates but there could still be more."

What is our primary use case?

Our use cases have been mostly for software development. We use it to integrate software and for processes, like representing different business processes.

How has it helped my organization?

In terms of benefits, it's easy for me to communicate amongst technical and non-technical stakeholders to draw everything out so that we are all on the same page and discussions can be made. That's the most valuable part. 

Documenting complicated workflows and technology integrations so that we can go back to it has also been a benefit. And without having to dig into a lot of technical, the codes, the documents, I can simply understand on a high level what's happening. 

What is most valuable?

The features where you can draw the business process diagrams and flowchart and where you can control the ERD diagrams are what I find the most valuable.

I find Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows and workflows to be pretty good. There are a fair bit of choices between different visualizations, so it's pretty flexible. Their examples and knowledge base is good. I'm finding that really to be valuable.

It's important to us that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because I use both devices.

The ability for people to look at the diagram rather than reading through written documents saved time, and as a result, money. If the diagram is good, then it quickly gives you understanding. It saves time.

Lucidchart helped to realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for. It's been pretty user-friendly so far.

What needs improvement?

In terms of improvement, there can be more templates. There are good templates but there could still be more.

The ones they have are pretty general. It would be good to have templates for real business needs. It would be a lot easier if they had use cases that people could relate to. There are templates, but they could provide examples of real use cases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for two to three weeks. I use the web-based version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, the stability is pretty good, but sometimes when I load up a new template or something it takes a while for it to load. It can be a bit resource-intensive. Sometimes it becomes a little slow, but I haven't had real problems. I'll probably find out more as I start using it more intensely.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has APIs and integration you can do. But I haven't tried to scale it yet. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't needed to reach out to technical support. I only had a call from the account manager, and that was really helpful. He showed me a lot of knowledge bases, templates, and things like that.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Visio. The migration to Lucidchart was very easy because it's pretty much the same.

When it comes to intuitiveness and ease of use, I only used Visio in the app and sometimes you have to load up the app and it can take time to get started. So compared to that, because it's web-based, I find Lucidchart to be easier and quicker.

I briefly used Draw.io. Whenever you need to do something quickly, you just log in to it, but I haven't used something for a long period of time or for a lot of different projects.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was pretty general. It didn't take much time, probably half an hour to log in, go through and understand the different tabs and everything.

What other advice do I have?

It's a good tool and it's easy to get started with. It's web-based and has a good knowledge base and templates. It will meet your needs to get something up and running quickly.

I would rate Lucidchart an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Lucidchart Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Lucidchart Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.