Microsoft Visio Essentials
Microsoft Visio Essentials is a hands-on course in building diagrams with Visio, from shapes, connectors and templates to flowcharts, organisation charts, diagrams generated from Excel data, data models, Gantt charts, UML, BPMN and network diagrams. It suits staff who document how work is done, HR teams, systems analysts and IT staff.
- Duration12 hours · 2 days
- FormatOnsite / live online
- Next roundOn request
- CertificateIncluded
Course overview
A good diagram helps a team understand a process, an organisation structure, a database or a network at a glance. Yet many people still draw diagrams line by line in PowerPoint or Excel, so changing one step means redrawing the lines, the symbols are not standard and the result is hard to reuse in documents. Microsoft Visio provides standard shapes, connectors and templates that keep diagrams easy to edit, easy to read the same way and able to be generated from data.
This course starts with choosing the right Visio for your licence, whether Visio in Microsoft 365 on the web, Visio Plan 2 or Visio Professional 2024, then practises shapes, connectors, stencils and templates to build flowcharts, cross-functional flowcharts and organisation charts, including diagrams built from Excel data. It goes on to data models for database design, Gantt charts and timelines, UML, BPMN 2.0 and network diagrams, and closes with a workshop that builds a set of diagrams for real work, ready to share and export. (2 days, 6 hours per day, 12 hours in total, Beginner level.)
What you’ll gain
- Understand the differences between Visio in Microsoft 365, Visio Plan 1, Visio Plan 2 and Visio 2024
- Use shapes, connectors, stencils, templates and themes to build diagrams that are easy to edit
- Build flowcharts and cross-functional flowcharts for process mapping
- Build organisation charts and generate diagrams from Excel data
- Build data models for database design, and Gantt charts and timelines for project planning
- Build UML, BPMN 2.0 and network diagrams
- Share, comment on and export diagrams for use in Word, PowerPoint and PDF
Who this course is for
- Staff who document workflows or write process manuals
- HR and management teams who maintain organisation charts
- Business analysts, project managers and systems analysts
- IT staff who document databases and networks
Prerequisites
- Comfortable using Windows, including installing and removing programs
- Some experience of Microsoft Office, such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint
- Able to use the internet and a web browser
- A Windows laptop that can run Visio Plan 2 or Visio Professional 2024 (the desktop app is not available on macOS)
Curriculum
Course Details
This is the 2026 edition of the Microsoft Visio Essentials course. It runs for 2 days, 6 hours per day (12 hours in total, 09:00-16:00), as lectures with a lab in every section, at Beginner level. The content is organised around today's licences: Visio in Microsoft 365 on the web, Visio Plan 2 and Visio Professional 2024. It adds diagrams generated from Excel, sharing and commenting on the web, and checking diagrams against standards. Advanced templates such as Crow's Foot, UML, BPMN and Gantt charts need Visio Plan 2 or a Professional edition, and learners use their own or their company's licence. Learners take home the course handbook, sample files, and the stencils and templates they build in class.
Day 1 Visio Basics and Process Diagrams
Section 1: Getting to Know Microsoft Visio and Its Editions
- What Visio is for, and how it differs from drawing diagrams in PowerPoint
- How Visio in Microsoft 365, Visio Plan 1, Visio Plan 2 and Visio Professional 2024 differ
- The ribbon, Shapes window, drawing page and status bar
- Lab: create your first diagram from a template and save it as a .vsdx file
Section 2: Lab: Shapes and Connectors
- Draw shapes and lines, resize and rotate them, and add text to shapes
- Dynamic connectors, connection points and AutoConnect
- Align, Distribute, Group and Auto Align & Space
- Lab: draw a simple process, then reorder the steps without the connectors coming loose
Section 3: Lab: Stencils, Templates and Themes
- Search for shapes and open additional stencils
- Build your own stencil from the master shapes you use most
- Themes, variants and backgrounds so a whole set of diagrams looks consistent
- Lab: build a team stencil and save a template file
Section 4: Lab: Flowcharts for Process Mapping
- Standard flowchart symbols, decision points and conditional paths
- Cross-functional flowcharts with swimlanes by department or role
- Annotations, callouts and containers to explain steps
- Lab: map a purchase approval process across departments
Section 5: Lab: Organisation Charts
- The Organization Chart template, adding positions and building the hierarchy
- Different layouts, and showing photos and staff details
- Generate an organisation chart automatically from Excel data
- Lab: build an organisation chart for a sample department from an Excel file
Section 6: Lab: Diagrams from Data with Data Visualizer
- Data Visualizer builds a flowchart from an Excel table (Visio Plan 2)
- Prepare the step, owner and next-step columns in the right format
- Edit the data in Excel and refresh the diagram, or edit the diagram and push changes back to Excel
- Lab: create a cross-functional flowchart from an Excel table, then change the data
Day 2 System and Project Diagrams, and Putting Them to Use
Section 7: Lab: Data Models for Database Design
- The Crow's Foot Database Notation template with entities and attributes
- Relationships and setting cardinality at both ends
- Documenting a database schema so the development team reads it the same way
- Lab: design the data model for an ordering system
Section 8: Lab: Gantt Charts and Timelines
- The Gantt Chart template: tasks, durations and task dependencies
- Milestones and deadlines
- Timelines for summarising a plan for management
- Lab: plan a three-month project with a Gantt chart and a timeline
Section 9: Lab: UML Diagrams
- What UML is and the diagrams most used in system development
- Use case diagrams showing users and what the system must do
- Class and sequence diagrams showing structure and the order of interactions
- Lab: build use case and class diagrams for a sample system
Section 10: Lab: BPMN 2.0 and Process Improvement
- BPMN symbols: events, activities, gateways, pools and lanes
- Check a diagram against BPMN rules and fix the issues found
- Compare as-is and to-be processes and record the improvements
- Lab: model a complaint handling process as-is and to-be
Section 11: Lab: Network Diagrams
- The network diagram templates and shapes for network devices
- Design the topology and show how devices connect
- Store device details in shape data and display them with data graphics
- Lab: build an office network diagram with an equipment list
Section 12: Workshop: A Set of Diagrams for Real Work
- Workshop: build a set of diagrams from your own work, such as a process, an organisation chart or a system
- Save to OneDrive, share and collect comments through Visio on the web
- Export to PDF and images, and use diagrams in Word and PowerPoint
- Wrap up with a checklist for good diagrams and next steps towards advanced work
Schedule & training options
For individuals — public rounds
No public rounds are open right now. Join the waiting list and we will contact you first when the next round opens, or ask us on LINE. Or call 02-570-8449 or 088-807-9770
For organisations — in-house / private
- Tailor the content to your team’s tools and projects
- Your dates, at your office or live online
- Quotation with tax ID for procurement
Instructors
Frequently asked questions
What are the steps to create a flowchart in Visio?
Open Visio and choose the Basic Flowchart template, which opens the flowchart stencil. Drag a Start/End shape onto the page, use Process shapes for steps and Decision shapes for branches, then join them with connectors or the AutoConnect arrows that appear on hover. Label the lines leaving each decision, such as yes and no, and tidy the layout with Align and Position. When several departments are involved, use a cross-functional flowchart with a swimlane for each owner.
What is the difference between a stencil and a template in Visio?
A template is the starting file for a type of diagram, such as a flowchart, organisation chart or network diagram, and sets the page size and units and opens the relevant stencils. A stencil is a set of shapes shown in the Shapes window; each shape in it is a master, and dragging it onto the page creates a copy. You can build your own stencils to keep the shapes your organisation uses often.
How do you build an organisation chart in Visio?
Choose the Organization Chart template and drag position shapes onto the page, dropping each team member onto their manager's shape so Visio links them and arranges the hierarchy. If your staff list is in Excel, you can import names, titles and reporting lines to build the whole chart at once. Then adjust the layout, theme and colours, and when staff details change you can rebuild the chart from the Excel file.
Who is the Microsoft Visio Essentials course for, and what should I know beforehand?
It suits staff who document workflows, HR and management teams who maintain organisation charts, business analysts, project managers and systems analysts, and IT staff who document databases and networks. You should be comfortable with Windows, have some experience of Microsoft Office and have a Windows laptop that can run Visio Plan 2 or Visio Professional 2024.
What will I be able to do after the Microsoft Visio Essentials course?
You will be able to choose the right Visio for your licence, build easy-to-edit diagrams with shapes, connectors, stencils and templates, create flowcharts, cross-functional flowcharts and organisation charts, generate diagrams from Excel data, design data models, plan projects with Gantt charts and timelines, build UML, BPMN 2.0 and network diagrams, and share and export them to Word, PowerPoint and PDF. Participants who complete the training receive a Certificate of Completion with its own number, which can be verified online.
Which version of Visio does the Microsoft Visio Essentials course use?
The course uses the Visio Plan 2 desktop app and works equally with Visio Professional 2024, which shares the same interface and core commands. It also introduces Visio in Microsoft 365 on the web, which suits basic diagrams. Note that some templates, such as UML, BPMN, Crow's Foot and Gantt charts, are only in Visio Plan 2 or a Professional edition, not in the Standard edition or Visio on the web, so check which edition your organisation has before using them at work.
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