Item: Microsoft Visio
Rating: 7
Author: Romi Kalathiya

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We as UI/UX designers do a lot of research and testing, and for that, we make a lot of diagrams and flowcharts that help us to find the user's pain points and stuff. And for that, we regularly use Microsoft Visio and so far we are more than happy. Earlier we were using wireframe and photoshop tools, but it was way more time-consuming and hard to make complex diagrams. With Visio, it became a really easy process and with its templates and pre-made shapes, it made our process much faster and more efficient. It also makes 3D map diagrams which are helpful in a lot of cases and you can pull data from external sources, so really easy to map user testing data for us.

Pros and Cons

Simple to complex flow charts and diagrams.
3D map diagrams.
Pull in live information from an external source like excel sheets.
Built in shapes and templates.

Make it more visually stunning, like it now feels little too old.
3D graphics needs a major upgrade so it can look like really advance and sleek.
Price for professional is too high.

Most Important Features

Pulling external data - helps with UX flow and user behavior testing.
3D mapping in some cases.
Templates for quick designs.

Return on Investment

Can't think of any other than price.

Alternatives Considered

Honestly non, wish we knew this tool earlier and I feel so stupid for using Photoshop and Illustrator for doing such work.

Key Insights

Do you think Microsoft Visio delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Microsoft Visio's feature set?

Yes

Did Microsoft Visio live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Microsoft Visio go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Microsoft Visio again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Trello, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator CC

Likelihood to Recommend

As I mentioned earlier, we didn't know about Visio and we made all our diagrams and charts inside Photoshop, illustrator, and other basic wireframing tools and it was an excruciating experience but then we came to know about Visio and it made our process very smooth and time-saving in most cases. Now we just use the templates and pre-made shapes and create all our app flowcharts and it's super fast and easy. For people like us who make these diagrams and charts on daily basis, this tool is a blessing to have. But for most non-professionals and who don't make complex charts, it's not really essential to have but yes it's still useful. can't really pinpoint any scenarios where you can't utilize it's feature set.

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Product Usability
Product Reputation

If you can afford this for your chart/diagram designs - Go for it. | Wish it was free or it should be I think.

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Visio