Afterwards they write it up, essentially double handling the data, creating multiple versions and running the risk of misinterpreting it. This wouldn’t be acceptable behaviour in what you would hope would be an engaging and participative workshop! Therefore typically Analysts run this sort of session using pen and paper. At the very least there would be long pauses and waiting while boxes were placed on the page and lines joined up. This is one key area where Visio falls down however and a Visio alternative would be required.Īll but the most experienced and adept analysts will find it impossible to map a process straight into Visio while it is being described by a group. Most of this can be achieved through collaborative process mapping workshops, whether they are face-to-face or run remotely over desktop sharing software. You can read more about these in our article (why we map processes). In the first instance we map processes for three key reasons to align people on how the process does / should work, to identify opportunities for improvement and finally to understand the constraints the process must operate under. The first thing to consider when looking for a Visio alternative for business process mapping is what your process maps will be used for. Finding the right tool for Business Process Mapping Skore Process Map This means that once again more tools are required and the data is duplicated and retyped each time risking misinterpretation and error. As a result teams using Visio will often transcribe processes into something like Powerpoint or Word before presenting to a wider audience. However Microsoft Visio’s unstructured approach means that a process can be displayed in a disorganised or illogical fashion. This creates problems as there are multiple documents and tools to manage in order to perform any sort of analysis which leads to further inconsistency.įinally, some feel that the diagrams produced by Visio are not visually pleasing, to be fair this is normally down to the user rather than Visio itself. Although you can include some extra data in Visio it is generally easier to create a spreadsheet to capture process related information. If it’s part of a larger programme, these processes need to be analysed. One of the criticisms leveled against Visio is that it’s hard to create consistent processes and stay consistent across a team of analysts. This, is the disadvantage, the flexibility and range of shapes. There are shapes available for basic flowcharting right through to the Business Process Modelling and Notation standard. One of its common uses, of course, is in Business Process Mapping. That flexibility is also a drawback and the reason why there are so many Visio Alternatives. For this reason it is incredibly flexible and can be used for an extremely wide range of different applications. One of Visio’s strengths is the large library of shapes and palettes that can be dragged and dropped onto the drawing canvas. Having been around for a number of years, and part of the generic Microsoft Office suite, it is available to users in businesses across the world.
#Visio mapping tool software#
Let’s start by taking a look at Microsoft Visio, a diagramming software designed for business use. This can make your life easier, accelerate your project and elevate you and your team to the role of trusted advisor in no time at all. Visio alternatives, such as Skore, are actually specifically designed for working with Business Processes unlike Visio itself. MS Visio is often the most used tool in this space but is it really fit for purpose? In this article we look specifically at business process mapping, analysis and continuous improvement. Before considering Visio alternatives it’s important to decide what you and your organisation are really looking for.