Visio Killed the Radio Star: Business Processes Mapping
Posted: Friday, May 02, 2008
by John Caulfield
Mouse Training Company
Graphics can be a effective way to communicate complex information, but often require a degree of artistic skill to generate effective images. It is difficult to imagine the average computer user easily producing sophisticated drawings using programmes like Illustrator.
It is likely that users are currently attempting to use applications like PowerPoint to create diagrams beyond the capabilities of both themselves and the application.
Visio is intended for people unable to draw freehand but who need graphical tools to help communicate information. Visio helps to position shapes esthetically in addition to storing information within each shape.
The aim of business process management is to create a clear picture of the process. Visio documents and map your organization’s business processes, providing an idea into how these processes work.
Shapes are the key of any diagram in Visio, whether it's a flowchart, an project plan, or organization chart. Shapes may represent objects, actions, and concepts. Visio has hundreds of shapes available - from basic shapes, such as circles, squares to more complex buildings, file servers, or even road plans. With this range of shapes at your disposal enables the user to impart their message with precision
Visio is a drawing and diagramming tool transforming ideas into visual diagrams allowing organizations to design, document and communicate key information with impact to their audience.
Visio can generate diagrams that demonstrate how their business operates providing comprehensive diagramming tools facilitating the communication of complex technical information through simple diagrams.
Imagine creating a layout for an office in layers. One layer might contain the furniture, another the power sockets, a third the windows and doors. Each layer could be displayed as a whole or in parts.
If you have a Microsoft Project plan containing time lines for tasks you can automatically generate all the shapes and connecting lines in Visio. Similarly, data stored in Visio timelines and Gantt charts can be exported to Microsoft Project. Use Visio to create a plan from your Microsoft Project data.
Many other diagrams are available with little effort. Use a wizard in Visio to generate an organization chart from the Microsoft Exchange Server global address list.
Imagine you have a drawing showing a seating plan for every employee in a building if this was connected to an Access database a change to the data would update automatically. Creating, storing, and updating organizational charts can be a time-consuming makes it easy to pull the information users need directly from their database and put together an org chart.
User can analyze how a process or other area is actually performing by connecting data to the shapes in the diagram. Alternatively you could design proposed database structures using entity relationship diagrams for an Access database and import them automatically. Create or modify Visio diagrams by linking them to a database.
Why not point Visio to a web site and watch it automatically generate a site map showing all the relationships.
It’s even possible to share Visio Drawings with colleagues you need to see them who don't use Visio . Visio drawings can even be saved as Web pages. Now users can capture reviewers' comments and suggested changes while protecting the original document, using the new Track Markup feature in Microsoft Office Visio 2003. Each reviewer has a separate markup overlay that is superimposed over the original drawing. The reviewers can add shapes,
John Caulfield
http://www.mousetraining.co.uk
This Article has been viewed 1,074 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Fantastic overview of what Visio can do - I will certainly investigate furtherI am obviously a writing GODNow now, Mr. Caulfield.I read this article and loved it. Trying to figure out how the heck to create a software test plan in Visio atm.
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