A picture is worth a thousand words, and in today's fast-paced, technology-driven workplace, flowcharts and diagrams are the preferred currency of communication. Don't get left behind! Learn how to create professional-looking diagrams in Microsoft Visio 2003 from a seasoned professional with experience in project management, software implementation, and training and consulting.

In this six-week online course, you'll learn how to create a variety of diagrams, as well as how to select the best diagram type to meet your needs. Filled with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, you'll learn the unique characteristics of several different diagram types, and then you'll learn how to use each one.

You'll soon know how to format your diagrams utilizing industry standards and best practices, creating high-quality and professional output. We'll cover the many features and functions within Visio that allow you to efficiently create your diagrams and make them pop. Once you've created your diagrams, you'll see how to analyze it to improve your business policies and processes.

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

A picture is worth a thousand words. It's a familiar saying, but how can we make it work in today's corporate world? Microsoft Visio offers you a wide array of diagrams that you can develop to explain a concept you want to share with others. By the end of our first lesson, you'll be able to identify how you can use Visio to help in your daily life.

Friday - Lesson 02

Before building a diagram, you need to take a couple of preliminary steps. First, you need to know the different types of diagrams available to you, and you need to know how to select the right one in any situation. Second, you need to be able to identify all of the pieces that you'll include in your diagram. We'll walk through these preliminary steps in this lesson. After that, we'll dive right into building diagrams, and we'll go over some of the basic formatting options you'll use throughout the course.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

One of the most basic Visio diagrams is the Block diagram. After we discuss the different varieties of Block diagrams, today we'll create the first of many diagrams in this course. You'll learn about the benefits of applying standard formatting to your diagrams (such as using headers and footers), and you'll learn how to present your diagrams more professionally using titles, borders, and backgrounds.

Friday - Lesson 04

You've probably experienced business processes in your own job or as a customer that make you wonder how anything gets done using such an inefficient process. In this lesson, we'll take a look at how to map out a business process, how to identify the steps involved, and how to pinpoint where inefficiencies or gaps may exist. And I'll show you several cool Visio features that will help you bring these processes even more pop.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

Basic flowcharts are probably the most widely used diagrams within Visio. Once you master the elements of this type of diagram, you'll be able to bring just about any process to life. In today's lesson, you'll learn why Visio is widely known as a flowcharting program, and we'll discuss the versatility of these diagrams. I'll walk you through creating a Basic flowchart, and then we'll take a step back and look at the overall diagram to analyze the information we've presented.

Friday - Lesson 06

There are a lot of great diagram types in Visio, but I have a favorite—it's the Cross-Functional flowchart. It's similar to the Basic flowchart, but the Cross-Functional flowchart offers a few nifty features that make it even more powerful. In this lesson, you'll learn why it's referred to as the swim-lane diagram, and I'll show you how you can take advantage of these additional options. I'll also show you a couple more unique ways you can use this diagram—taking it well beyond a flowchart.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

The project manager in all of us will love this lesson. Project management is all about organization, time management, and tracking, and Visio offers you several diagrams you can use to track this type of information. In today's lesson, you'll learn how to develop a fun and functional calendar, what a Gantt chart is and why it's useful, and how to build timelines. While these all fall under the heading of Project Schedule, I'm sure you'll find all kinds of uses for these diagrams.

Friday - Lesson 08

Today, we'll explore Directional Map and Office Layout diagrams—two things that really let your creativity flow. Why create a Directional Map diagram and not just use an online mapping service? Directional Map diagrams allow you to show not only streets but also important landmarks, providing a greater level of detail for your audience. Meanwhile, office Layout diagrams allow you to map out your physical space to determine whether all your furniture will fit where you expect it to. This can save you a ton of time (and many back problems!). While these diagrams may appear excessive, they are what I call high impact diagrams. There are other ways to accomplish the same thing, but using Visio creates a higher impact for the audience.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

When you're starting a new job, one of the most difficult things you have to do is learn the names of all your colleagues and how they're related to each other within the organization. That's where a Visio Organization Chart can come in handy. Along with lots of options for formatting and adding new information, Visio has a powerful organization chart tool, and you'll learn all about it in today's lesson. The other chart we'll cover today is the Brainstorming diagram, which you can use to organize a collection of ideas that you've gathered randomly (for instance, during a brainstorming session).

Friday - Lesson 10

By this point in the course, you've created many different types of diagrams, so today we'll switch gears for a look at some Visio features that you can apply to just about any diagram. Specifically, we'll start with layers. Once you master layers, you can change the view of a complex diagram based on the need or the audience. You'll also see how to modify some diagram behaviors and learn how to add objects and comments to any project.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

We all have preferences for how we like to use any software program, so I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Visio is just as easy to customize as any other Microsoft program. Today, we'll go over different ways that you can modify Visio to meet your needs, and I'll help you identify a few options that you can apply to make the most of your time working with Visio. You'll learn how to display and use a couple of new stencils, including your Favorites and the Document stencil. After that, I'll show you a few of my favorite options, including how to change the color scheme of your entire diagram, the Format Painter, and the Stamp tool.

Friday - Lesson 12

There are several slick ways you can view your diagram, and I'll show them to you here in our final lesson. The information I share with you today will help you not only display your diagrams to others, but also help you develop and modify all of your diagrams. Plus, since you'll probably want to print your diagrams at some point, today we'll go over the basics of printing in Visio. And since I firmly believe in the concept of helping you to help yourself, we'll finish up by navigating our way to Visio's Help system—a place you can visit long after you finish this course to find the answers to any questions that come up in your work later.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Amy Westlake.

As a project manager and senior consultant, Amy Westlake guides clients in implementing various enterprise-level integrated software systems. As a software solutions specialist, she is often required to explain complex ideas to many different audiences—from end users to executives—and Microsoft Visio is her go-to tool to successfully communicate complex information and ideas. She earned her Master's degree in Finance and holds certifications in project management, instructional design, and Microsoft Office. She teaches numerous online courses with varying levels of interactivity.

Requirements:

Microsoft Visio Standard 2003 or Microsoft Visio Professional 2003 are acceptable (software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins); Microsoft Windows XP or 2000; Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader). Note: this course is not suitable for Macintosh users.

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