Research Analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Enables us to collaborate among users in real-time so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document
Pros and Cons
  • "I've been using Lucidchart for quite simple things, but it's definitely much easier making process maps using Lucidchart than it is using Google Docs for basically everything. It's much simpler in terms of how easy it is to use Lucidchart. The way that you can get the arrows on the flow charts, based on the process mapping, you can drag the arrows from one box to another and it automatically shows you where you can put it. It makes decisions for you in terms of if you have a decision diamond, then the line is automatically a yes or no. This just makes it so much easier."
  • "One of the issues has been that, as far as I understand, even to view it, the other person needs a Lucidchart account unless you send them a PDF. That's been a bit of an issue because some people in our organization don't have Lucidchart accounts, only certain people have logins. If we just want to collect comments from people, that's been a bit complicated."

What is our primary use case?

I've been using Lucidchart for process mapping and creating organograms. Primarily surface researchers use it. We're setting up a new service and that's what we're using it for.

How has it helped my organization?

The process mapping has improved my organization. It would have looked very messy to do it on Google Docs. We wouldn't have been able to cover such a range of things in our process mapping. We've managed to get in rows for different organizations and how they fit into the process mapping. We just wouldn't have been able to have space for that using Google Docs and it would have taken so long with the formatting.

It saves us about two hours. It only took us about an hour doing it on Lucidchart, so it probably would have taken about two and a half hours on Google Docs.

We use it to collaborate among users in real-time so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document. It has been great for our project development process. In a way that's similar to Google. It's not that new for us, because we use G Suite throughout our whole organization. So we expect things to be able to do that because we do that a lot where we're all working on the same document at once. But in the same way that it does G Suite, it's really useful. It would be a real big drawback if we couldn't do that because you have to get the Word document, then you save your changes, then you send it back. It saves a lot of time being able to do it at the same time as someone else.

It's not necessarily saving time, but more saving the admin from sending it back and forth and trying to make sure that we're working on it at separate times. It probably would have taken us the same amount of time. It's more the ease of doing it.

It's hard to say whether it's saved money. It's definitely saved time. If you tried to put a process map in writing, I don't think anyone would read it. I don't know if it would save time and money, because no one would even look at it.

What is most valuable?

I've been using Lucidchart for quite simple things, but it's definitely much easier making process maps using Lucidchart than it is using Google Docs for basically everything. It's much simpler in terms of how easy it is to use Lucidchart. The way that you can get the arrows on the flow charts, based on the process mapping, you can drag the arrows from one box to another and it automatically shows you where you can put it. It makes decisions for you in terms of if you have a decision diamond, then the line is automatically a yes or no. This just makes it so much easier.

I use Lucidchart to document process workflows. We're setting up a new service. So we needed to map how the old service worked, as the exact processes of the old service, and then map how we want the new service to look.

Its capabilities for visualizing and understanding these types of workflows are really good. It's been really easy in the way that when you do a Google Doc, it's all about if it will fit on the page if you're doing a process map or something like that. Whereas Lucidchart, you can make it as big as you want, but then still when you convert it to a PDF, it will all be on one page and then you can send that PDF to people. I found that really useful.

We integrate it with G Suite. Its ability to do so is definitely important. At the moment, that's been fine, because we link it when we're doing a Google Doc, for example, and we have it find the process map and then we would just link into the Lucidchart there. As long as we can do that, I don't think that would be a problem for us. But we'd want it so that when people open Lucidchart if we were sending a paper saying, "This is how our service is going to look. Please see here," and we've linked in the Lucidchart, we would want it so that when they open the Lucidchart, it's a final copy and it doesn't come up with where it says shapes and it has all the editing toolbars. We would want it to just link to a copy of the actual process map.

It's important to us that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC because in our organization, since COVID, most people are using different types of computers. Our whole organization uses Chromebooks, but some people prefer to use their personal laptops for work. For example, my personal laptop now is a Macbook, so I would need to be able to access it when I'm at work, which is on a Chromebook, and also when I'm at home using my personal laptop for work.

What needs improvement?

Lucidchart has been pretty good. I've never used it before. I didn't read any instructions on how to use it, but I still just managed to pick it up. Anyone who's generally computer savvy would be able to just pick up to use it very quickly. Maybe it would be useful for people who don't process maps not that much to where it says containers and shapes. There is diamond, round and rectangle, maybe it could be explained in brackets that that's used for in-process mapping and flow charts.

One of the issues has been that, as far as I understand, even to view it, the other person needs a Lucidchart account unless you send them a PDF. That's been a bit of an issue because some people in our organization don't have Lucidchart accounts, only certain people have logins. If we just want to collect comments from people, that's been a bit complicated.

You can't put comments into a PDF that easily. We'd want them to be able to open it on Lucidchart without having to have an account themselves and then put comments for us and be able to tag us in comments and things.

That's not possible to do now, at least in a simple way that we've been able to tell. We've had people emailing back saying, "I need my Lucidchart login. I don't know what this is."

Buyer's Guide
Lucidchart
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for around two months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Web-based is much better because I'm using my personal laptop for work and loads of people are during COVID. I would never want to be downloading lots of applications onto my laptop. The fact that I can just open it in Google Chrome makes it much more accessible to me.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was really straightforward. I've never used it before and I didn't read any of the instructions. Someone just said, "We use Lucidchart for process mapping." So I clicked on it, made my account, and then it was just intuitive. I didn't need to do anything. I didn't need to learn or anything.

What other advice do I have?

I can only comment on process mapping and organograms because that's the only thing I've used it for. But I would definitely recommend using Lucidchart for this.

I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Continuous Improvement Manager at a consumer goods company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
I get better and more productive engagement from team members and I get through mapping processes more quickly
Pros and Cons
  • "It is important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because if you support Mac, that means you also support the mobile applications on the iPad... Some of the other employees have access to an iPad, but not all of them do. When we're trying to talk through a process with them on-the-fly, or at the point of occurrence, it's so much nicer if we can both have it up on the iPad. That's why I would say the Mac support is essential."
  • "One of the things that I find frustrating is that all of our Tableau information is on a server, so when I send that out people can't open it and use it. I then have to go back and do extra work to convert everything into an Excel format that everybody can use. It would be really important to me, if I send something out to somebody who doesn't have a Lucid account, that they can just click and see it, instead of having to log in and create an account."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use it for process improvement in a factory setting. What I am primarily using it for is making process flow diagrams—with the rectangles, circles, diamonds, arrows, and whatever else you would build into a process flow. 

We've had discussions about using it to build engineering-type stuff, as well. For example, "Here's the room, here are the dimensions. Here's what it would look like if we moved this piece of equipment, what space it would open up. Here are other constraints or barriers that it might create." We've had discussions on that, but we haven't really delved into that yet. 

I have the web-based for my laptop, and I have the app downloaded on my iPad Air. I've been using it on both of them.

How has it helped my organization?

We're primarily using it for process mapping and it's much quicker than trying to do it in Excel. 

Doing things digitally means that if I'm on a Teams or a Zoom meeting, I can get input from people and they can see it as we go. I'm a pretty big user of whiteboards. I have two in my office and those are great. But what I hate sometimes is when it comes to, "All right, let's take this away. Let's run with it," I have to take a picture and send it out. Then, at nine o'clock at night, someone on the team will say, "Oh, I just thought of this step that we completely overlooked..." I can't do anything about it because it's on my whiteboard. But using Lucidchart, I've been able to say, "Okay, I've got my iPad, let me add that in really quickly." I like the convenience and the user interface.

It is so great for understanding process flows or workflows. With the prior training that I had, doing things on whiteboards and in Excel or Word to manually build stuff was clunky. Because it was clunky, it was slow. When it's slow and you have a meeting, you lose people's attention. Because this is fast and not clunky, people are able to say, "Oh, okay. This is the next step and the next step." I get better engagement and I get through mapping the processes quicker. Because it has the different shapes and the explanations of what things mean, I'm able to get more out of it. Visually it is the best application that I've used.

I'm also getting productive engagement and productive challenge from my teams. Someone will say, "Well, that step shouldn't really be represented by a diamond. It's more a case that somebody has to go and get things and that causes a delay, but it's not necessarily a decision because it's built into the process." 

Per week, I probably do two of these exercises, and each one would take three-plus hours to get through when dealing with some of our more complicated processes. Now, we can get them done in about an hour. That's a huge improvement because of the software itself, but it has also helped us to see, "Wow, we have a lot of excess steps and waste in our process." For example, we were working on it with a team over the last two days and we got two new maps up in the span of an hour and a half or two hours. We're getting much quicker at process mapping and understanding what we need to address.

Lucidchart has also helped with training and developing standard operating procedures. Before, we would just use a piece of paper, and maybe it would have a picture of what is going on. And on that piece of paper would be a list of sequential steps. We still have to do that for FDA regulations of having and maintaining SOPs. But having printed out flowcharts benefits us because you can just flip over the piece of paper and see, "All right, here are the four or five little steps I take before I get to a decision, and here are the two branches from that decision." That extra context helps us in building a development tool. And we can post the process flow map for, say, operating a hopper, right on the equipment. That way, people can see things. And if they need more context or deeper instruction, they can bring up the actual SOP with all the words. But a quick little chart that shows the flow: "This is what I do. This is what I do if this fails, et cetera," is something that we're getting a lot of immediate benefit from.

What is most valuable?

It is important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because if you support Mac, that means you also support the mobile applications on the iPad. Because of the kind of factory setting we're in, all of the office personnel and management have laptops, but they also have iPads. Some of the other employees have access to an iPad, but not all of them do. When we're trying to talk through a process with them on-the-fly, or at the point of occurrence, it's so much nicer if we can both have it up on the iPad. That's why I would say the Mac support is essential.

It's easy to click and drag and automatically insert shapes. And once you have selected an arrow to move to a new location, it auto-associates the shape with it and you can right-click and change. There's no copy, paste, make next steps, start typing. It's all seamlessly integrated.

What needs improvement?

Integrations with third-party software are pretty important. I do a lot of work out of Tableau for data analysis. One of the things that I find frustrating is that all of our Tableau information is on a server, so when I send that out people can't open it and use it. I then have to go back and do extra work to convert everything into an Excel format that everybody can use. It would be really important to me, if I send something out to somebody who doesn't have a Lucid account, that they can just click and see it, instead of having to log in and create an account. I can understand if they can't edit it; that makes sense, to restrict that behind the paywall. But in terms of actually being able to open up the data, it would help. With Tableau, for our data management systems, it's a big constraint. The user interface across other software is very important to me.

Something that would also be nice—and maybe it's just a feature I haven't explored yet—would be to be able to link the data from other sources, whether Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, or even straight from Excel. That way, if we build processes we could immediately assign data, whether its defective units, operational uptime or operational downtime, changeover time, et cetera. It would help to be able to put it in there so that we can have the data collected and then somehow integrate it to each step of the process. For example, if this step of the process fails, it causes X minutes of operational downtime and Y number of defective units coming out of the machine. I understand that it might be a little advanced, but right now I'm taking the charts and correlating them to existing data from Tableau and from Excel. If there were a way to make it seamless, so I could click on my flow chart and show, "This decision point, this diamond, is potentially responsible for X number of minutes operational downtime, and Y number of defective bottles," that would be the continuous improvement dream.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for close to a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've only had one or two issues where the performance of it was delayed. I don't know if the cause was the internet connection or if it was because I was trying to fill out the charts on the iPad. But using the Apple Pencil, there were time delays between drawing lines between different process steps and getting things entered in. It was a little awkward on the timing. When you build something on the iPad, its performance might just not be as effective as building it on the computer.

Other than that, every time I build something there's no buffering or issues with it deleting my work or not saving things. It seems to be doing all the things that it needs to be doing. The iPad issue is the only little snafu I've had.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I can't speak too much abou its scalability. We could probably expand it and get multiple supervisors at my plant using it. But in terms of getting the information made and sharing it out, it's pretty quick and pretty easy. If we were to add a company server for it and 18 people working on it at the plant, I don't know if there would be scaling or server issues.

I hope we have plans to increase usage of Lucidchart. Our business is split up into four plants across the country. In the Continuous Improvement department there are four of us. We each have a license. There are plans to bring one more person onto the team. I'm hopeful that we would then be looking at getting it at least for our operations and production managers, which would potentially be an additional two licenses per site.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not needed to use the technical support yet. I've not had any major issues.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before Lucidchart, we were building process diagrams in Excel.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Lucidchart is a pretty straightforward process. There is still stuff I'm learning as I go, when it comes to knowing what to look for with different templates. But if the most basic function you need is to make process maps, and to do it quickly, and then figure out what you've got to improve, it's very effective at that.

What was our ROI?

While it's not directly saving money, because it is a paid-for service, it saves us money in the sense that we have a better understanding of our processes, what can be changed, and what we need to attack. We then go out and attack it, do it, update the maps, and then we get the return on the investment.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I used Visio here and there when I worked for another company, but I was not the main user of that application. Still, between it and Lucidchart, I prefer Lucidchart. It is a lot simpler and a lot more accessible.

In my current company, we have not evaluated any other solutions. I think our engineers do have CAD for facility layout, but in terms of competitors to this, we have not looked at any directly.

What other advice do I have?

Watch some of the tutorials, check the reviews, and definitely talk to folks who are using it. Figure out what they like, what they don't like, and what they would want changed. There's a lot that I like about it. I find it to be a pretty good service. Get involved and play around with it, especially if you're working on facility layouts. I have printouts for some of the areas where we're implementing 5S and changing processes in. It's nice having something that the engineers have printed out, like a schematic or a blueprint for us.

Also, if you're going to try it out, try to make a simple process that you already know all the steps for; one you've already done it in Excel or in something else. See how much faster you can do it on this. That would be the big selling point. Trying to make some of these process maps in Excel, because it's so clunky and so slow, could take me 35 minutes just to get a 15-step process properly built, connected with the decision points in the lines, and for us to really understand where the pain points are. Taking something as simple as a 15-step process, timing out how long it takes to build it in Excel or PowerPoint, and then comparing it to this may show you, "Wow, with Lucidchart it took, maybe, five minutes."

I've been discussing getting this implemented in other departments at my facility.

In terms of its integrations, we've used it with some of the Microsoft suite for sending things out. I haven't used it for Slack yet, although I do use Slack for a nonprofit that I'm in. That actually might be a good opportunity because then I could just make some process maps for some of the nonprofit stuff that I do. And could then just send it out that way.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Lucidchart
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Change Analyst at a leisure / travel company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Documents processes and systems and has good visuals
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are the different templates that they have already created, as well as all the different shapes you can use in the process charts because each shape stands for a different element or thing that's being done. It's easy to distinguish between different steps using the already set-out shapes."
  • "In terms of improvement, they should make it very clear, whether it's a single A4 page or two A4 pages, it should be mapped out. Either I don't know how to use it, or it's not there, but having to stick to margins so I can see what's going to be on different pages when I print it or move it to a PDF has been my only challenge so far."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is to document processes in the business organization.

How has it helped my organization?

One way we benefit from it is that multiple different people can be working on a single document and they can also make comments from different points of the process. My manager will comment that something needs to change or be moved. Then I can edit that really easily, see exactly what they're referring to, and understand the changes. It's really collaborative as well.

For me, the biggest thing is that it has a really good visual representation of what's happening. It also easily exports to things like PDF and Microsoft Word so that you can send them easily. The collaborative element and how good the visuals are the best parts for me. I am referring to real-time collaboration among users and also comparing versions of documents.

Real-time collaboration has definitely saved us time. I haven't had to call people back and forth and make changes like that. Whereas we're both just editing in a single document. It saves around an hour or two a day.

The version comparison features are very important. I'll often analyze what the initial process is, and then how it's going to be in a new business situation. It's important to be able to see those changes because they need to be mapped in a different way for the original process. It's very useful.

Lucidchart has helped us to realize inefficiencies. You can see what seems like taking too long or what step in the process doesn't need to be there. It has definitely helped me to identify those and remove steps from a process, make recommendations to the client, and what doesn't need to be done or different areas that can be automated.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the different templates that they have already created, as well as all the different shapes you can use in the process charts because each shape stands for a different element or thing that's being done. It's easy to distinguish between different steps using the already set-out shapes.

Their ability to document things like processes and systems is a ten out of ten. It's very easy to use and very user-friendly. You don't need a lot of training. I didn't get any training and I could use it from the get-go because everything's very clear. They have the tools you need to make all the changes you need, which are very clear, and a lot of the things just automatically fix up for you. If you drop an arrow, it will automatically connect it to another box, make sure it's straight, and adjust all those sorts of things. It's a massive time saver.

It's great for process flows and workflows because they use swimlane diagrams, which is really helpful. You can see who's responsible for different tasks, and at what different stages in the process they need to do different things. Visually, it's a really good tool to provide to clients and customers. I can clearly see what is happening and it has good use of the different shapes and colors. It's a really good graphic representation.

It's definitely important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users. I am a PC user, but occasionally I'll be on a Mac and it's really important to be able to do it on both as well, just because people have their own preferences.

What needs improvement?

In terms of improvement, they should make it very clear, whether it's a single A4 page or two A4 pages, it should be mapped out. Either I don't know how to use it, or it's not there, but having to stick to margins so I can see what's going to be on different pages when I print it or move it to a PDF has been my only challenge so far.

In the next release, I would like to have good roles and responsibilities-type diagrams, like a table that's as a template. Because they have really good templates, but nothing for something like that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for a few months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've never had a problem accessing it and it always updates quickly and works well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It could definitely grow. It has been used in lots of different industries and areas. It's a really fantastic platform that, until this company, I didn't know about. I'd definitely use it for other areas of roles at different points in my life, I'm sure.

At this point, Lucidchart is being used all day, every day. I'm probably the main person using it, but there's someone who's a transformation specialist who uses it as well, who's above me. And anyone else who is a team specialist would use it as well.

How are customer service and technical support?

Lucidchart is easy to use so I haven't needed to contact technical support yet. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was super easy, it took me two minutes. I had a username and login, it was all there. My company shared the folders they needed to with me and I had instant access. They just have to give me permission. It really was a very quick process.

What was our ROI?

My company definitely thinks it's worthwhile. It's reasonably priced and they use it very easily and quickly. They recognize how much of a time-saver it is. Whereas, if we would have had to do this manually, in PowerPoint, or something like that, it would take around five times the time, or even more.

If you consider what you pay someone an hour, you've pretty much paid for the annual subscription probably within a week. 

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely advise purchasing it straight away. You will not regret it.

I would rate Lucidchart a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Business Analyst at a real estate/law firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Makes collaboration and presentation easy, and templates save me significant time
Pros and Cons
  • "Ease of use is especially critical because if I am conducting brainstorming sessions with my team, I have to be able to quickly put things on the monitor so that I don't lose their attention and focus. Ease of use is definitely helpful when I do that... The fact that I don't get lost within the software and am able to quickly generate visuals onscreen, so that it doesn't break the momentum, is a huge win."
  • "I wish there were a lot more automations. For instance, if I'm using a project management software to list out all my WBS [work breakdown structure] I wish Lucidchart had the functionality where it would take all the numbering and generate a tree diagram. Something like that would help so much, but right now it's still a manual task..."

What is our primary use case?

I use it for the WBS tree diagram, the work breakdown structure, and for divisional workflow mapping. I also use it for whiteboarding sessions with my team. And I have used it for an operational requirements matrix. Our company has used it for making a company organizational chart.

How has it helped my organization?

It makes collaboration easy. It makes presentation easy. The real-time collaboration is super-helpful.

It has saved me time on the order of 20 percent for project planning. Given that there are three people involved, a project manager and two project coordinators, that is significant because a project takes two to three months to plan.

Also, the ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, has saved time.

What is most valuable?

  • Ease of use 
  • Pre-existing templates

Ease of use is especially critical because if I am conducting brainstorming sessions with my team, I have to be able to quickly put things on the monitor so that I don't lose their attention and focus. Ease of use is definitely helpful when I do that. With COVID-19, we've been doing all our meetings via Zoom, so I share a screen and then I have to add things as everyone else is talking. The fact that I don't get lost within the software and am able to quickly generate visuals onscreen, so that it doesn't break the momentum, is a huge win.

It takes a lot of time for me to draw from scratch. Using a template that's already made for a specific business objective saves me about 50 or 60 percent of the time spent on the task. I search for something that is like what it is that I'm trying to do and then I just fill in the blanks. I then make slight modifications to fit within our needs. The templates are definitely a huge help.

In terms of documenting processes and systems, I would rate Lucidchart an eight out of 10. It's good for visualizing work package hierarchy. I haven't run into limitations. It has a fine balance of showing me how things could be done, yet it's flexible enough that I can make changes so that things work for my needs.

Also, when it comes to creating database schemas or modifying existing data structures, it's good visually. The visuals are there, the ease of use is there. But ultimately, it's the people who input data into those visuals who make things work. The solution doesn't do the thinking work for us. But it makes the thinking and the presentation easy, absolutely.

We're also using the web content feature, where it's a direct, live link from Lucidchart. That integration is super-helpful and super-important. It's a 10 out of 10 in importance because we don't want to keep going back and forth to upload content. We want to have live content. We make the changes in Lucidchart and they are visible in other, integrated software.

In addition, it is important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because we're using it for team collaboration. A lot of developers are using PC, while designers are using Mac. I am using Mac, as a project manager. If developers are a big part of the project, it's important that it's compatible with both platforms.

What needs improvement?

I wish there were a lot more automations. For instance, if I'm using a project management software to list out all my WBS, I wish Lucidchart had the functionality where it would take all the numbering and generate a tree diagram. Something like that would help so much, but right now it's still a manual task, both in the project management software I use and in Lucidchart.

I wish the project management software could do that. If it could do that, I honestly don't know if I would still use Lucidchart. But if Lucidchart could do that, it would definitely add a lot of value.

In project management, or any kind of planning, it's one or the other. We either start with the diagram and then they make it into a grid, and then ultimately into a Gantt chart; or we make it into a grid and Gantt chart, then we make the diagram. If both are required for stakeholders and participants to understand things, something has to be automated. Either the project management software could take my grid with all of the WBS numbers and provide functionality to quickly make it into a diagram or matrix. Or Lucidchart could understand those WBS numbers and simply make it into a chart or a matrix.

Whoever does it fastest will win. But ultimately I could see how project management software companies will make this functionality available.

Also, Lucid doesn't do enough knowledge-sharing on how we could use Lucidchart. Other companies send out so many emails saying things like, "Did you know you could do this? Did you know you can do that? Did you know that we can integrate with this software?" Lucid doesn't do enough of that. I think that would be super-helpful.

We have a subscription for certain projects and then we will cancel the subscription and start the subscription again for another project. The reason is that we don't know what Lucidchart can do for us. So we just use it for a project and, when the project closes, we stop the subscription. We've done that many times.

It would help to know what other usages there are and how other companies are using Lucidchart to integrate with things like Salesforce. I didn't know that you could use Salesforce and Lucidchart together. I'm curious to know how people are using it. I want to know how they are using Lucidchart for ERP. How are they using it for CRM? How are they using it for project management software? How are they using it for operational work? How are they using it for Scrum? How are they using it for Waterfall? It would be nice if they could tell their existing customers so that we could become advocates.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Lucidchart on and off for about 14 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There is a lag. I think it's because it's a heavily visual software. When we put in a lot of data, a lot of visual elements, it does tend to freeze up or there's a lag, and it's really visible on the shared screen. If the document has a lot of visual elements, for us to drag one visual element to another area, there could be a few seconds of delay.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our company has 400 employees. Only about 15 or 20 use Lucidchart. They're in software development, operational work, marketing, and one person is using it for UI/UX.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have never used their technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

While I myself did not switch from Visio to Lucidchart, I know people in our company who have switched. The switch was easy. I don't know in detail what they did, but I don't think they did any conversions or imports. I think they just started from scratch.

I had to work with our design team to draw out charts for. The design team uses Adobe Creative Cloud. When I said that using Lucidchart saves me 20 percent of my time, it's because there's no longer any going back and forth with the design team. I don't need their help anymore. I can just do it myself.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is very straightforward. I search for existing templates for what I'm trying to achieve. I pull two to three templates that could potentially work and make a rough draft and then run it by the team, saying, "Is this the right way to visualize the process?" We then make modifications or we try other templates.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is in time savings.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm happy with the pricing of Lucidchart but I can't say I'm completely happy with it. It could be cheaper for what it offers, about $5 cheaper, or Lucid could charge $5 more and add more features, like automation. Right now, it's $15 per user per month.

If Lucid had more communication with current users about all the features that they have and all the support, it could justify charging a little more.

On the other hand, they have made their billing super-easy for users, such as for people who have to do expense reports. It is probably the easiest platform I'm using when it comes to billing for software as a service.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Visio as well as Draw.io and another Adobe product. 

Draw.io is missing the templates. I have to do everything from scratch. Lucidchart provides templates, live linking, and the whiteboarding functionality.

Adobe is expensive. Price-wise, Lucidchart made more sense. Compared to Adobe, price and usability—how easy it is—were the advantages of Lucidchart. 

What other advice do I have?

As far as project planning, execution, project status reporting, and requirements analysis, if planning is a big part of it, Lucidchart is a must-use.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Engineering Student at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Good collaboration capabilities, efficient, and has a user-friendly interface
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is very user-friendly and it is not a hassle to use the site at all. They did a really good job in that regard."
  • "The UML diagram that it gave me initially was a huge flow with a bunch of UML tables, and I wasn't going to need that many. If it was a more simple linkage between the tables then it would be easier to finish projects, instead of having to select unnecessary tables and delete them."

What is our primary use case?

I am an engineering student at college and I was using Lucidchart for a research project. I was using it to create flow diagrams.

How has it helped my organization?

Lucidchart is a free application and it is very helpful for documenting processes and workflows. It is very easy to use and it can assist in every possible way.

It's important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because due to today's technology, not every person is going to be situated on a Windows, or Linux, or iOS platform. Lucid's accessibility on any type of platform allows more users and therefore more downloads. With more users, it leads to more reviews. With the additional coverage and scrutiny, it means that the product will be expanded and better maintained. 

My classmates and I were using real-time collaboration and it had a positive impact on our development process. It made things very easy for everybody to understand and it was super helpful. 

The real-time collaboration saved me time, considering other projects took much longer. Lucidchart allowed me to enter information and shape my project very effectively, probably shaving off more than 20 minutes per chart.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is developing flowcharts and being able to collaborate on them.

Using the product to create charts is efficient. It meant that I didn't have to rely on Microsoft Word or another application to draw them from scratch.

Lucidchart is really good and very informative.

The interface is very user-friendly and it is not a hassle to use the site at all. They did a really good job in that regard.

What needs improvement?

When you start the software, it requests what type of diagram you would like. In one instance, I chose UML because I needed it for an assignment. The UML diagram that it gave me initially was a huge flow with a bunch of UML tables, and I wasn't going to need that many. If it was a more simple linkage between the tables then it would be easier to finish projects, instead of having to select unnecessary tables and delete them.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Lucidchart a handful of times.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Lucidchart is a very stable application, and at the moment I see not too many bugs or errors, so it's running very effectively.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability was not a problem. It did exactly what I needed to do and it didn't require that I spend several hours to figure it out.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not been in contact with technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I tried some other applications and websites, such as Draw.io, and I found that Lucidchart was very efficient compared to the others.

Lucidchart and Draw.io are fairly similar applications and I have used them both for creating charts. I found that it was more difficult to draw and work with charts using Draw.io.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a straightforward process. It took me under a minute to complete it, and it explained every step, very well.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I was using the free version of Lucidchart, which was very helpful.

What other advice do I have?

This is a well-rounded application and I have recommended it to my classmates.

If Lucid could make a deal with universities, where it was free for students to use for projects over the duration of their courses, then it would be very good because many more people would become familiar with the platform. It is user-friendly to the point where it is easy for anyone to understand and use the platform, and Lucid is a top company because of that. I also think that for business owners, Lucid should have a bulk package that is available for multiple workstations.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Sr. Eng Program Manager at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Fairly intuitive, has a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output
Pros and Cons
  • "When it comes to documenting things like processes, systems, and new teams, I'd give it an eight or nine out of ten. It's very high because it's fairly intuitive, there's a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output. You can get results very quickly without a lot of direct effort. You don't usually take a week-long series of training. You don't need to go through a lot of hoops to make it work."
  • "The main improvement I would like to see is for them to improve the help section on the flow charts or on the formatting."

What is our primary use case?

We use Lucidchart for the lateral flow charts.

How has it helped my organization?

I've used Lucidchart for a status report. I gave it a particular format and was able to set it up in minutes.

What is most valuable?

It's fairly intuitive. It has a fairly low learning curve. The only tricky part, and it's only because I have not spent time on it, is some of the formatting. They should enhance the help section on the formatting.

When it comes to documenting things like processes, systems, and new teams, I'd give it an eight or nine out of ten. It's very high because it's fairly intuitive, there's a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output. You can get results very quickly without a lot of direct effort. You don't usually take a week-long series of training. You don't need to go through a lot of hoops to make it work.

I would also rate Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows or workflows a nine or ten out of ten. It's much easier to use than Visio.

I plan to use Lucidchart to create database schemas or modify existing data structures. That's the next step, but I'm still at the beginner's level.

We have used Lucidchart in real-time collaboration among users. The solid collaboration has saved us time.

I have received good feedback about its ability for people to look at the diagram rather than reading through written documents.

Lucidchart has helped us realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for. I did use it for a status report. It saved emails, but I can't quantify how many emails we would have sent.

What needs improvement?

The main improvement I would like to see is for them to improve the help section on the flow charts or on the formatting.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've only been using Lucidchart for a few months. I use the web-based application.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's highly available. Once you have all the users on the same licenses, it's very available.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

All of us are in the project. There are multiple users.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not actually had to call up support yet, which is a good sign. I haven't really had any calls with them.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used PowerPoint, Word, and templates. It seems like Lucidchart is the most intuitive out of the entire set. 

The intuitiveness is the main difference. The ability to get to see it very quickly seems to be the big advantage for Lucidchart.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward, except for the formatting. It took a little bit more to try to add bullets or anything to touch it up.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to give it at least a good hour to try it before you make any decisions. It shouldn't take that long, but if you put in effort for an hour, I think that you will get immediate results to see the benefits.

A nice thing is that this platform's very forgiving, so I would say to learn to experiment.

Overall, I like it. I just need to find some dedicated time to learn some of the nuances of using the tool. 

I would rate Lucidchart an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Salesforce Solution Architect at a consultancy with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Salespeople can organize ideas and brainstorm with it
Pros and Cons
  • "It is important to me that the solution accommodates both Mac and PC users because the developers in our company use Mac, then the business people use Windows. The technical people create the technical architecture using Lucidchart. So, it is important that it is compatible with both the systems."
  • "I would like to have more text boxes to write more comments so I can write a small note below a picture. I would like some flexibility."

What is our primary use case?

We use the data models. We create technical architecture and system architecture, usually for technical diagrams that we need processed.

How has it helped my organization?

On my team, there are business and technical people who all are using Lucidchart. It gives us really clean, professional-looking diagrams that we have tried to make in PowerPoint. Also, if you can leverage their templates, then you aren't starting from a blank canvas.

What is most valuable?

The templates are very useful. We get the templates for technical systems, which are helpful.

There is a connection to the system where you can directly pull the data model. There is a Salesforce Connector that you can use, which pulls out your diagram from the system. That is really cool. When we click on the data model, you can connect to your technical system, like Salesforce or AWS. This helps create a data model that you would otherwise have to do manually in a better looking format, like PowerPoint. It pulls the data model into a kind of presentation mode. You don't have to drag and drop lines and relationships between objects.

It is good for documenting processes. I see the salespeople organize ideas and brainstorm with it.

I use Lucidchart to create database schemas and modify existing data structures. Lucidchart is pretty good in its ability to support these processes. I would rate it as a four out of five.

We use Lucidchart's integration with Salesforce for getting the ER diagram and enterprise relationship architecture. We need it to connect to the database, which is very important.

It is important to me that the solution accommodates both Mac and PC users because the developers in our company use Mac, then the business people use Windows. The technical people create the technical architecture using Lucidchart. So, it is important that it is compatible with both the systems.

Lucidchart has helped us realize efficiencies in the projects that we use it for. The leveraging of templates has been a great help. Previously, I was creating an ER diagram in PowerPoint, which was very tedious to do. Now, I just connect to the Salesforce database and have to pull the data model. The Salesforce Connector pulls the relationship automatically, which is a very big help. It is a great feature.

What needs improvement?

I would like to have more text boxes to write more comments so I can write a small note below a picture. I would like some flexibility.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using it this month.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My team consists of five people. In my company, there are a lot of people who use it. We get our licenses on an as-needed basis, e.g., if we need to run a project, then we use it. Not everybody in the company uses Lucidchart. If we need it for a project, then your credentials are created and you are enabled access. 

Only people who are a little bit in the middle management level of leadership use it. Not even our leadership uses it because they have people working for them.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not contacted Lucidchart's tech support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used PowerPoint.

How was the initial setup?

I need to tell my company's IT that I need access to Lucidchart. There is a single sign-on that gets enabled, then I just need to set my password. It is pretty self-explanatory. It doesn't take much time. I just had to explore and browse a little bit to see what templates were available. It is pretty easy to navigate and use.

What was our ROI?

The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, has saved us a lot of time, and as a result money. In our clients' requirements, they need to see what our deliverables are and we have to produce these pictures, which is also better now.

What other advice do I have?

Go for it. Try it. The solution is good.

I do have plans to increase my usage. I just use it for deliverables and to generate a few diagrams and documents. I have not explored the full features of Lucidchart so much.

I would rate Lucidchart as an eight out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Director of Strategic Accounts at a marketing services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
A faster way to do architecture; you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time
Pros and Cons
  • "Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows or workflows is excellent. The way that you put together the parts of charts and edit the chart are all very intuitive and easy to use."
  • "Sometimes, I have created charts with a lot of layers, which locks down parts of the chart and hides parts of the chart to edit it. If they have a better way to deal with specific layers when it gets complex, then that would be helpful. I would like to see something like an illustrator program, where they have a pallet of these layers that I want and don't want as well as being able to see each layer individually. That is the one thing that could be helpful."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for primarily for two things:

  1. Website architecture design.
  2. Process flow diagrams.

Most of our company's designers and I are on Macs along with a few other Mac users, then everybody else is on Windows machines. I also have a Windows machine, so it has to work on both.

How has it helped my organization?

We use it for a lot of things. It is the easiest way that we have found to document processes, and we have a lot of those. We do a lot of web architecture. It's also the easiest way to create those charts and work collaboratively, so multiple people can be in making edits. We use it a lot more than I thought we would.

We don't email documents around. Anybody can get in and make changes to the document that they need to. This is one of the key aspects of it, especially now we are all working remote and particularly when you're working on something like website architecture.

It has become a little simple and clearer to finalize things, like website architecture, by clearly sharing them with the client. So, they understand every page and where it fits into the site.

It is a faster way to do architecture. As far as having some project processes documented, you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time and ask a lot of questions about, "How do we do this?" That part of it is much more efficient.

What is most valuable?

What I like about Lucidchart is its flexibility of how you put things together along with its intuitive sense. That makes it really fast to put together, unlike some other platforms. It has a nice balance between being powerful and simple, where some of the other platforms go too far and are too powerful.

It is great for complex process design. There is a balance between power and simplicity. It lets me do everything that I need it to do without it being complex to implement.

Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows or workflows is excellent. The way that you put together the parts of charts and edit the chart are all very intuitive and easy to use.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes, I have created charts with a lot of layers, which locks down parts of the chart and hides parts of the chart to edit it. If they have a better way to deal with specific layers when it gets complex, then that would be helpful. I would like to see something like an illustrator program, where they have a pallet of these layers that I want and don't want as well as being able to see each layer individually. That is the one thing that could be helpful.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have never run into a problem. I have never had the site crash on me or lose a document or document file. So, stability has never been a question or issue.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are a relatively small company of 40 people, where 10 to 15 people have used Lucidchart. There are probably eight of us who are real regular users of it, so scalability hasn't been a factor. 

Our users' job roles vary. They are mostly account management and development.

How are customer service and technical support?

I don't know that I have ever really used the formal technical support. I have used the documentation on it, where I had to look up how to do things, but I have never had to reach out to the technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have had clients send me Visio files. However, most people at the company were using Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.

The main reason why we went with Lucidchart was I don't like the solution in Microsoft Office and PowerPoint. They were very limited in what you can get them to do. They were also very slow to make things look the way you want, so it was not an adequate solution.

How was the initial setup?

It is definitely easy to implement. It will not take a ton of time to get up and running using the tool.

We did not set it up company-wide. If people have a need for it, then we create an account for them, and that's it.

You can create a basic chart in five to six minutes without any problems. 99 percent of the things that you want to do are right there and exceedingly obvious on how to do them. 

As far as deployment, the only thing that I would tell people is go use it. They can figure it out without having me train them on it. If they need to use it, it's intuitive enough that I don't provide any training on how to use it. Everyone figures it out pretty easily.

What was our ROI?

It always saves time if you don't have to email things back and forth, then wonder if you have the latest version.

We are documenting some processes which were not documented before at all. I think that will help make projects go more smoothly in the future.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing and licensing are fine, though I wish they didn't require you to buy the licenses in batches of five.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The overall suite is great at helping us to visualize each step of the process, from brainstorming initial ideas to turning those ideas into reality. We looked at a number of brainstorming whiteboard applications and decided to go with Lucidspark. It is the easiest to use. It had all the features that we were looking for. The fact that it integrates with Lucidchart is nice. So, if we're doing a whiteboard session to create architecture, we can immediately translate it into a formal hierarchy document.

What other advice do I have?

It does everything that we want it to do. I would give it a 10 (out of 10). I think it's great.

It is not a huge deal for us that the suite can be centrally managed by a unified administration console, but it is nice.

We use some of the integrations with Microsoft. They're somewhat important, but not a deal breaker. We wish they would incorporate them into Lucidspark. So, if I make a chart and want to put it into a presentation, then it is nice to be able to make a change to the chart and have it automatically update in a presentation without having to reimport it. We are also heavy users of Microsoft Teams, so it's nice that I can share charts within Teams.

We don't really use it for new teams and hierarchy charts.

We really haven't used Lucidchart's ability to compare versions of documents. We probably should because it happens. The client will ask for a change to the architecture and see what it was before. However, we have not utilized this feature a lot.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Lucidchart Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Lucidchart Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.