How Business Analysts Use Microsoft Visio

This article will explore the various applications Microsoft Visio has for Business Analysts.

What do Business Analysts Do?

Business Analysts are tasked with proposing data-driven solutions to optimize an organization’s effectiveness. They draw from large datasets to find patterns as well as opportunities for growth. In addition, they often offer suggestions pertaining to changes the organization can make to improve IT operations, staff development, and overall efficiency. Their job involves spotting ways to cut down on costs while still helping a business remain competitive. Business Analysts draw from various tools and applications to perform these tasks, such as Excel and SQL for data analysis, Microsoft Power BI for business intelligence solutions, and visualization software like Tableau and Microsoft Visio for creating visual depictions of data patterns. 

What is Microsoft Visio?

Microsoft Visio is an application that was created to provide users with assistance in making diagrams, flowcharts, and various forms of vector graphics. Those who work with this solution find it helpful for generating both simple as well as more complicated diagrams. Visio provides users with a robust set of templates, stencils, shapes, and objects with which they can make diagrams. Visio includes more than a quarter-million shapes and symbols users can select from to customize charts and diagrams while at the same time ensuring that they will have a professional-grade quality. 

The following are just some of the many types of professional-quality charts and diagrams that can be created using Visio:

• Floor plans
• Process diagrams
• Timelines
• Mind maps
• Flowcharts
• Network diagrams
• Organizational charts
• Gantt charts
• Infographics

How do Business Analysts Use Microsoft Visio?

Microsoft Visio is relied on by those who work in several industries, such as architecture, engineering, and business, to clearly convey information to an audience consisting of internal as well as external stakeholders. Here are some of Visio’s main uses in the field of business analytics:

• Visio helps create detailed, multi-level diagrams and flowcharts. Business Analysts find these elaborate visual depictions of information helpful for conveying algorithms as well as the relationship between data points. Because this product can integrate with OneDrive, Word, and Excel, it helps Business Analysts to streamline the process of depicting important information and sharing it with other stakeholders.
• Business Analysts use Visio to assist with business modeling tasks. It is a powerful tool for capturing and presenting ideas in a way that’s accessible and impactful. In addition, this application is helpful for generating project schedules or flowcharts, data models, and case diagrams, which are helpful for many organizations.
• Visio makes it easy for Business Analysts to create process diagrams, which are a helpful tool for customer service teams to monitor and model the various processes and organizational procedures that must occur for the business to run smoothly.
• Business Analysts are sometimes asked to create Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs). These data models explain how various concepts, items, or entities are related to one another. These have specific applications in the business sector in that they are helpful for providing information about the business terminology being used by the organization, as well as the business domain, and for creating connections between various business concepts and database structures. Business Analysts working with Visio can generate ERDs that are accessible to a non-technical audience but still have a professional-level quality.
• In the business sector, clear communication is essential. Because Visio can create a variety of accessible and informative diagrams and charts, this application helps Business Analysts to communicate their data findings clearly and succinctly in the visual format. In addition, most Visio users consider this app to be intuitive to use, which makes it a go-to tool for those who are new to business analytics, as well as seasoned professionals who have been working in this field for years.
• Visio users can connect diagrams generated in this application directly to data sources.
• One of the benefits of working with Microsoft Visio is that it allows Business Analysts and other users to quickly create diagrams with the help of its drag-and-drop interface. In addition, because this solution includes a variety of customization options and formatting selections, graphs and charts created in this application have a personalized yet professional look and feel. 
• Flowcharts created in Visio are helpful for depicting the set of steps that happen during a process, as well as the order in which they should occur. 
• Because Visio files can be saved and exported as PDFs, they can be easily stored, embedded in documents, and sent to others in a format they can open.
• For Business Analysts seeking to analyze the efficiency of a business, organizational charts provide a helpful way of visually communicating various business hierarchies, such as the structure employees use when reporting, as well as the relationship between different departments. 
• Project timelines can also be created using Visio. These are helpful for Business Analysts in that they use a single bar to indicate when key events will take place, as well as any looming deadlines. 
• Gantt charts are a popular tool for conveying all the tasks that have to be completed during a large project, their expected beginning and ending dates, as well as which employees are tasked with completing them.

As the above list indicates, Microsoft Visio has many applications that help Business Analysts visually convey relevant data findings, share them with internal and external stakeholders, and provide innovative solutions to help their organization perform more efficiently.

Get Started Learning Microsoft Office with Hands-On Classes

Knowledge of Microsoft Office can open professional doors across industries, as well as lead to upward career mobility. A great way to begin learning about Microsoft Office is to sign up for one of Noble Desktop’s Microsoft Office courses. These small group classes cover Office 365 applications such as PowerPoint and Excel, and are offered in-person in Manhattan, as well as in the live online format. 

For students and professionals on the go, there are also in-person and live online Microsoft Office courses available through Noble Desktop or one of its affiliate schools. A variety of course options are offered, ranging in length from three hours to three days and costing between $219 and $1,785. In addition, those who want to find study options near home can browse a comprehensive listing of in-person Microsoft Office classes in a city near you.