Basic:
1) a drawing software to draw everything in various industry.
2) a commercial software by Microsoft to enrich Office. Thus, Visio is plugin-able in Words, PowerPoint, etc.
3) It is 2-D drawing software.
4) It was first introduced in 1992, made by the Shapeware corporation. It was acquired by Microsoft in 2000.
Development Platform:
1) Programming language: unknown.
System Design:
Using target: create any drawing in 3 basic steps
1) Choose and open a template
2) Drag and connect shapes
3) Add text to shapes
Key Concepts:
1) Stencils and templates: a group of shapes related with a topic.
2) Shapes: the basic unit that is copy-able and edit-able.
3) Data: associate data with shapes. Different shapes might have specific data and data view.
An example of stencils:
Key Product Features:
1) extremely extendable by new stencils, new shapes and new data
2) support programming
3) work with Word, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Access, Excel
GUI:
Recent Versions: (still not a default unit in Office)
- Office Visio 2007 (v12.0; Standard, Professional)
- Visio 2010 (v14.0; Standard, Professional, Premium)
- Visio 2013 (v15.0; Standard, Professional)
Success?
1) From user's point of view, VISIO is professional, powerful and user-friendly.
2) However, it is also expensive, heavy, and looks not easy to use (even through it is not).
3) From product point of view, VISIO does not get that success as Word and Excel.
For two major reasons:
A: VISIO itself is (or feels) heavy, both product and expense.
B: Microsoft did not make VISIO a default unit, and enhanced the draw features of PowerPoint. It makes VISIO not a must for non-professional users. In my view, instead of simplify VISIO for normal users (like: make stencils plugin-able and simplify the GUI), Microsoft decided to borrow VISIO to PowerPoint and leave VISIO to rich professionals and industry users.
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