How do you use Visio?

I'd love to hear about the context in which you use drawings -- whether you're an end user of the app or a developer of custom solutions for the app. Want to post feedback and talk about how you use Visio?

Me, I use Visio a lot. Here's some things that I do with Visio as a user:

• Track my projects on timelines. I ask that everyone on my Program Management team do the same. We create a separate timeline for each project and line them all up in a pretty row. That way, we can look down the row and see how the milestones across projects line up and where we're overloaded versus underloaded.
• Map out my wistful plans for a house remodel. This is probably a case of the perfect drawing that will never see the light of day for many years, given that I have two kids under 3.
• Conceptual diagrams for customer presentations. Tends to be either simple workflow diagrams or conceptual
• Architectural diagrams. Can't be bothered with UML so I just use the COM/OLE shapes.
• Feature UI planning. We use a Visio stencil with standard Office UI elements to plan the next version of our project. Makes it much easier to put together a prototype.
• Feature workflow: I almost always do a workflow diagram or three in my product/feature specifications.

Natch, I use Visio 2003.

-- Mai-lan

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Comments

• Anonymous
  September 24, 2004
  I use Visio for building database structures (I used to use MS Access) as well as for simple and complex drawings of network and application architectures depending on the audience.
  
  I would like to note that I am new to the Visio world and hope to extend into developing DB linked diagrams to help with managing hardware and software assets.
• Anonymous
  September 29, 2004
  I use Visio to draw anything, animation and fun.