Visio Reviews

I mostly use it for network diagrams. It is a standard solution for creating this kind of stuff.

It is stable. I have never experienced any issues.

It can be complex. If you don't know a little bit about it, it can get really confusing.

I have been using Visio off and on for around 15 years.

It is stable.

We have around ten users from IT, engineering, and HR. HR uses it for flow charts or organization charts.

I have never used their technical support.

It has always been Visio. The first one I used was in 2003.

The initial setup was straightforward.

I haven't looked at the prices lately. We have an older copy, and it was a couple of hundred dollars for this software. That's a huge expense.

I would rate Visio an eight out of ten, and that's just because I don't know how to use it fully. I know it does a whole lot. It has plenty of training. I wish I had more time to actually get really good at it.

Process modeling. 

It's not easy to share and modify by colleagues.

Drawing BPMN diagrams.

Sharing, and add timing features.

• We design architectural and business flows for web/eCommerce and ERP systems. 
• We design web architectures, UML, and ERD.

Its ability to visualize complex data and process flows. We can easily add templates to SharePoint for collaboration.

The diagramming and swimlane features allow for separating business functions. Also, the web page architecture helps.

• It needs hyperlinked or narratives for page flows to make demos more effective.
• It could use easier custom icon sets.

I'm a business management consultant.

The product has a good interface and tool configuration which comes with the Microsoft Office package. Another advantage is that you don't need to be an expert to use the tool. It's actually very easy and doesn't require a technical background so you can make any business process in a very easy way. Once you finish the layout business process, it can be sent to a client and visualized in a webpage without the need to download any other application. With other softwares, like ArchiMate, you need to download the application in order to view it. As a consultant when you finish the process, you need to send it in PDF format or something similar and your counterpart can view the file without any further configuration or further downloads.

For professional use layout configuration is sometimes a little difficult to use. I think that the applications could be improved, so that Microsoft Visio is linked in the modeling of applications and algorithms.

I rate this solution a seven out of 10. 

I like to use Visio because it gives me a quick view of the things I had to put in a model for a company. I don't use it as an interface, though.

Something that needs to improve is the interface interaction with other tools.

The program is very stable. I've had no issues with it.

The solution is scalable.

I don't use technical support. I only use the documentations, the scheme and the use of the symbols.

When I work at companies, they've already installed and prepared the program for me. So I never have to install it for myself.

I would recommend this solution to others because it gives you a quick view. You can demonstrate in a short period what you want from the managers. Sometimes, however, the program is not compatible with some protocol standards, like ArchiMate. So I would like to see a better interface in the future. On a scale from one to 10, I rate Visio a seven.

The templates are the most valuable feature as there is a wide variety of the commonly used graphics.

When you open a diagram, you have a number of templates such as Engineering, Network, Software, Maps, etc. that quickly organize the images you can use in Visio.

We can build the process workflows. It makes it easier to describe the process flows.

There is a need to keep updating the mobile icons.

I have used this solution for more than 10 years.

There were no stability issues.

There were no scalability issues.

The setup is simple; just load and go.

It is a great investment. Use the Visio Viewer, which is for people that really don’t need to just create a view.

It is fantastic, but avoid making flow charts a full-time job.

Every aspect of it is highly valuable.

• Template creation
• Process conversion to SOP
• Ability to enter thorough details for each activity that can be expanded for reading
• Ability to create/define roles and functions and re-use them in all processes
• Ability to establish hierarchy for related processes

I have been using Visio for almost 10 years.

Surprisingly, I have not encountered any stability issues.

We did evaluate other products, but I don’t remember the names at this stage.

Microsoft Visio is a robust tool for quick mapping. However, it is not user friendly when it comes to handling large number of processes. The details that can be entered into the activities are limited. There is no option to create/define roles and functions as well as their hierarchy. Also, there is no option to enter control notes (other than the simple note tool). Also, there is no option to extract the process as a Word document. There is no option to convert the process flow into an SOP format. Creating custom templates within company’s brand specifications is difficult as well.

Valuable features for me include the different chart options and the ease of building them up.

It was very useful for the high level and detailed design phases of my projects.

There are some performance issues on a different operating system which could be improved.

I have been using the product for three years. It is used, mostly, for design phases.

The product is very stable.

The product is highly scalable for the design.

Not applicable.

It is very easy to install. You just need to get the Microsoft license.

This is great software for designing workflows for the HLD and DLD phases of the project.