Not capable of being everything to everyone
Written: Jan 18 '03 (Updated Jan 18 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A wealth of different flowchart types can be made from one package
Cons: Tries to be everything to everyone. Some things are best done in other packages.
The Bottom Line: If you don't believe the marketing hype and simply use it at what it excells at, it is a worthwhile tool.
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| stevelarrison's Full Review: Microsoft Visio Standard 5.0 (Media Only) for PC (... |
First off, let me state that I have been a long time user of Visio. As someone who started using the package around 1996 or so, I can remember the days before Microsoft owned the package. Even without the marketing muscle of Bill Gates and company, Visio was useful enough to be successful on it's own merits.
For the uninformed, Visio is one of the most popular packages for drawing flowcharts. It offers a wealth of different charting styles including :
Block Diagrams
Database Diagrams
Flow Charts
Forms and Charts
Internet Diagrams
Maps
Network Diagrams
Office Layouts
Org Charts
Project Schedules
Software Development Diagrams.
Each broad category of charts mentioned above allows several different chart styles. Realistically speaking, there isn't any kind of flow chart that you are likely to need that it isn't capable of producing.
While it is extremely flexible, one of it's greatest strengths (number of chart styles) also turns out to be it's only real weakness.
Before I go on, I should mentioned that I make my living designing developing database systems. While Visio is perfectly capable of drawing ERD's (Entity Relationship Diagrams), I can't think of a single reason why I would use Visio instead of ERWin or Oracle Designer. Though all 3 packages are capable of producing identical charts, ERWin and Oracle Designer can generate the DDL (Data Definition Language) needed to create tables, views, constraints, and indexes within the database. If I am going against a live database, both Designer and ERWin are capable of reading systems level tables from the database and generating ERDs based on live data definitions. Visio has no such capability.
As someone who also works in project management, I can't think of a single reason why I would use the Project Scheduling ability of Visio over Microsoft Project or some other Project Management package. While both Visio and Project are capable of drawing Gantt charts and PERT charts, Visio would require me to keep track of resources to avoid conflicts manually. There is no facility for changing dependancies, or automatic updates of timelines based on variance from schedules.
In short, it can draw pictures, but it doesn't add much intelligence to anything it does.
However, though Visio fails miserably at being everything to everyone, it does have legitimate uses. It is a very easy to use package. Visio uses a drag and drop library of connectors to build flowcharts. There are a wealth of block styles and connectors available. It is ideal for drawing charts that will remain relatively static after creation. For the types of work I do, things like Organization Charts or Systems level Flow Charts are a good match for what it does.
While it does a lot of things, it doesn't do the majority of the things it does well. But like any other tool, the key to success with Visio lies in knowing how and where to use it. Sadly, it seems like it tries to sell itself as doing more than it is really capable of.
Recommended:
Yes
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stevelarrison
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Member: Steve Larrison
Location: Scottsdale, Az. USA
Reviews written: 171
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Beer, the answer to, and the cause of all life's problems.
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