Visio was first released by the Shapeware Corporation in 1992. They later renamed themselves the Visio Corporation and were bought by microsoft in 2000.  You can use it to make heaps of different types of diagrams and other graphical representations of data. You can do flow charts, data flow diagrams, calendars, building plans (though I'm not sure how useful it is in that area), network diagrams, charts and graphs and just basically heaps and heaps of diagrams. Its good because it has lots of templates and objects to help you stick to the official structure/syntax of pretty much any type of diagram you may be required to make. There is really no other program like it and it makes diagrams really simple to do.  This program also makes drawing and diagramming software makes it easy for IT and business professionals to visualize, explore, and communicate complex information. Go from complicated text and tables that are hard to understand to Visio diagrams that communicate information at a glance. Just like swim charts. Instead of static pictures, create data-connected Visio diagrams that display data, are easy to refresh, and dramatically increase your productivity. Use the wide variety of diagrams in Office to understand, act on, and share information about organizational systems, resources, and processes throughout your enterprise After working with this great program you will find out that there are multiple uses for Visio. Say for example you are doing a power point presentation and you need to convey some type of diagram. You can create the diagram in Visio and copy it over to powerpoint. You can use it many times to describe a process flow or create professional diagrams at work or school. Its a great way for managers or teachers to use it to make a seating chart for a department or class of close to a hundred people. Microsoft Visio is the way to go for making diagrams and charts!