Microsoft Visio

[In my option, Microsoft Visio is] bad value for money. [Learning from my experience,] If you are [considering] purchase[ing] Microsoft Visio plan 1, which allow[s] you to work using web view, don't. [I feel] it is a real wasting time tool. [In my experience,] the time to implement simple charts [has] become 3X or 4X [longer than the] older desktop versions. [I believe one of the] crazy wasting time issues [is that] you can insert picture but you cannot crop [it]! [In my experience,] you must use paint first. [Also, in my experience, you can group objects but cannot un-group, [meaning] you have to reimport the objects rework, and regroup again. Also, [I feel no matter] the bandwidth you have, the tool is very slow.

The most convenient is the use of the Microsoft Visio software product in the case of creating private models in various notations and modeling areas through a wide variety of application cases. I would not use this product to create a common enterprise architecture that is maintained on an ongoing basis.

Microsoft Visio is a very flexible drawing package that is well suited [for] documenting simple or complex network topologies and creating process maps and flows. Microsoft Visio lacks integration with other documents like Word and PowerPoint. We should have the ability to add mind maps, flowcharts, and other diagrams to document in other Microsoft Office products but that feature is missing.

[With Microsoft Visio you can] create charts, process flow diagrams, mind map diagrams, and business process modeling. Visio provides a large number of built-in templates that are helpful to draw and complete projects faster and effortlessly. Visio is extremely easy to utilize. You can create a professional-looking functional diagram.

Engineering drawings where a full CAD system is too complex and expensive. Day to day diagrams and drawings and flow charts

If you are working within an organization that will use the process diagrams for its needs, then you can use Visio, as your organization will have the license to make changes in the future. But if you are working at a consultancy firm which creates process diagrams, then think twice. Your clients may not have Visio licenses to change the diagrams that you had drawn for them.

The primary way we use Microsoft Visio is to create, update, and maintain org charts. There are various formats and templates loaded which allow for easy customization of the chart’s format. It also allows for simple changes and updates to be made as needed.

It is a pretty versatile tool especially for drawing creation which is how we use it. It could also work well for organizing and presenting data. It has a better interface and more options that excel. We are able to add on and make custom stencils, and templates for our business.

Visio is a very visual program, and is therefore helpful in situations that require summarizing a large amount of information, like a complicated process. Visio would be much less beneficial in a situation that requires documenting many small details, as they would clutter the aspect of simplicity that Visio otherwise provides. Visio is, however, very well suited for supplementing documentation with very minute details by providing a higher-level view of information.

One way I've used Visio is to map the current state of a network. Beginning with actual design objects from OEMs, you are able to import a lot of equipment details and enter serial numbers, service IDs, MAC addresses, etc. Visio objects are defined at various manufacturer websites including Cisco, EMC, Dell, HP, etc. You then can link and organize your network "on paper" to keep an inventory of your devices, their software version levels, and other information. When you replace a device, it's easy to delete and add the new device, keeping your documentation up to date.

Overall, I feel that Microsoft's support is weak. They are now such a behemoth that their model of putting documentation online for their users to sift through is totally outgrown. Given the amount of money you pay for these licenses, Microsoft should provide easy one-on-one support for their products via email or chat. The idea of paying their rates for support incidents is ridiculous. If you have an enormous amount of time on your hands, use their support websites and you will eventually find a solution most of the time.

Visio is really a basic tool to create product strategy roadmaps, flowcharts and even simple artworks for immediate printing. While it does its basic functions well, it is limited to those basic functions.

Never visited customer support. There are not many helpful resources on the web, as far as I understand.

For organization charts, complicated process-flow diagrams and hierarchical charts, it is well suited.

It is a very useful tool in order to handle the complicated diagrams and engineering process design. It has a very user-friendly interface and is easy to use.

Microsoft Visio is great for a variety of diagrams. It' has a number of templates for data/process flow diagrams, network diagrams, and floor plans. The convenience of drag and drop feature makes it fast to build visually appealing diagrams which serve as a great communication tool. Its ability to export to PDF is also very handy.

I have never had to contact support, however, there are lots of stencils that can be downloaded or purchased built by the community.

Whenever a diagram or process needs to be documented, Microsoft Visio is a good option. Microsoft Visio is especially helpful when showing relationships between multiple items. Diagrams that primarily display information can be created leveraging other tools like Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, or others, but Microsoft Visio can still be used in these situations.

I gave a rating of 7. I would give Microsoft Visio features a 6, but its affiliation with Microsoft provides additional familiarity and comparability with other products gives it an additional point. At the end of the day, I'd recommend the product to a user (especially a trained user) for diagrams (especially when showing relationships).

As a network engineer, I have to create and edit network diagrams daily. Microsoft Visio is quite a time saver.

The support for Microsoft Visio is satisfactory.

Visio is well suited to any medium to large organization where you can negotiate a good price for the licenses. It is well suited to any organization with users familiar with the MS Office Suite and who need a process flow designer tool. Overall, it's easy to use and very helpful for visual learners.

The product doesn't seem to be updated very often. I'm sure there are lots of enhancement requests that could/should be implemented but I don't use it as frequently as others in my organization. The product doesn't give me any noticeable issues and I've never had to report an issue to Microsoft about Visio.

We like the swimlane diagramming and the flow charts. With a bit of effort, we can make them efficient for use within our team, or add bells and whistles of formatting for executive review. They do translate well to pdf when sharing with non-Visio users. I would not recommend for people that are novices and don't have the need to create 'fancy' diagrams. For simply typing things, they can just easily use Excel. And I actually sometimes do that when I am in a hurry.

I don't really use any support for this product. I don't have issues with it, so from that standpoint, it seems ok, and at this point is a very mature product. I haven't seen too many changes over the years.

Ease of use, it has many stencils supporting system architecture and IDEF system behavior diagrams. I have also utilized it as a system conops design tool. Excellent flexibility. Powerful program for drawing plans and structural charts, is easy to use and contains a wide range of design tools that facilitates the development of flow charts for users with little experience.

Works very well with Workflows.

I haven't had to use support for this product so my rating would be n/a

Visio will work really well for someone using it to make some flow charts, org charts, and universal markup language charts.
I don't see it being the easiest when working on floor plans because importing the plans doesn't work out too well and requires you to make pointers for connections if you brought in one big picture rather than individualized pieces.

Visio is an excellent tool for documenting a call flow design or the architecture and components of a communications system in a visual format and their relationship to each other. It is less helpful for text-based documentation. When a solution needs to be represented visually, it is an excellent choice.

Visio is great for creating process flows and system diagrams. The only constraint with Visio is my own skills and creativity in building complex, rich documentation to easily convey information. If you're looking to improve processes, or depict current or future-state processes, you need Visio.

In practically every corporate scenario, Visio will be used. However, if a simple diagram needs to be made the user experience is too poor to be efficient. I've seen users resort to PowerPoint rather than messing with Visio. However, if professionalism is paramount, there is no alternative to Visio.

Visio is really good with technical drawings. It is not our domain so I can't vouch for it but I know it also makes an electric schema. It would be great for decision trees and process flows in general. I would not use the software for advance detailed drawings (like a building floor map) though. I probably would work but not the best thing. Also, if you need a precise object size, you will struggle a bit to get the desired result with Visio.