Microsoft Visio 2010Customer Solution Case Study

Cruise Line Upgrades Data Visualization Tool to Share Diagrams, Boost Business Value

OverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Hospitality—Travel services

Customer ProfileBased in Miami, Florida, Carnival Cruise Lines operates 23 ships, which carry 3.8 million guests each year to hundreds of destinations in North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. It employs 37,300 people.

Business SituationCarnival Cruise Lines sought a cost-effective way to extend the reach of Microsoft Visio drawing and diagramming software among its corporate employees.

SolutionThe company deployed Microsoft Visio Professional 2010. Its intuitive interface and interoperability with Microsoft SharePoint Server technologies is driving adoption.

Benefits Fast, easy diagrams Improved project management Simplified processes

“With Visio 2010, it’s easy to link to data, to publish to SharePoint, and to share diagrams through a browser. These benefits point to a rapid rate of adoption, so we’ll quickly maximize our return on investment.”

Leticia Chirino, Senior Trainer, Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines wanted to extend the value of Microsoft Visio drawing and diagramming software to more staff. It upgraded to Microsoft Visio Professional 2010 and will start using Visio Services in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 to publish data-linked diagrams to SharePoint sites, where staff can access them through a web browser. Employees now use Visio 2010 to simplify process flow charts, clarify job functions, and streamline project management.

SituationFounded in Miami, Florida, in 1972, Carnival Cruise Lines sails 23 Fun Ships to destinations that include the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, New England, Europe, and the Panama Canal.

Carnival employs 3,800 employees who work in corporate headquarters in Miami and in the Miramar–Florida satellite office. Employees have used Microsoft Visio drawing and diagraming software since 2003—administrative assistants for organizational charts, and IT staff for network and service diagrams. When Carnival included Microsoft Office 2007 in its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, more staff members began using Office Visio 2007. That’s when Leticia Chirino, Senior Trainer at Carnival Cruise Lines, began training employees on the intuitive diagramming tool and creating multipage process flow diagrams, such as technical support desk ticket creation.

“We wanted to provide our staff with a tool that simplifies complex business processes so that we can standardize those processes in a way that everyone understands, and we can all work on the same page,” says Chirino. “If I can provide an individual with something that requires very little reading and provides the same level of understanding, I’m hooked.”

However, Chirino saw room for improvement in the product. “Employees were challenged by working with margins and pagination in multipage diagrams,” she says. “It would have been nice to be able to link diagrams back to live data, to have them updated automatically, and to share them with other employees. Administrative assistants had to send out huge organization chart drawings to the whole company via email. Collaborating on diagrams or updating them efficiently to reflect changing processes was difficult

because we didn’t have a central place to store them.”

SolutionIn May 2011, Chirino began using Microsoft Visio Professional 2010. She saw that it offered a more intuitive user interface and new features, such as the Infinite Canvas option that employees can use to easily create multipage, data-driven diagrams.

With Visio Services in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Carnival staff members can publish and update data-linked diagrams to SharePoint libraries so that other employees can view diagrams in their web browsers, without having Visio 2010 installed on their computers. Additionally, Carnival employees working with Visio 2010 can use a standard site template in SharePoint 2010 called the Business Process Repository to find, edit, and publish approved process diagrams. The Business Process Repository includes check-in, check-out, and version control, enabling authors and participants to learn from, apply, and improve some of Carnival’s core processes, all while remaining compliant against approved standards.

“In August 2011, we began upgrading to SharePoint Server 2010,” says Chirino. “We have licensed 994 Visio seats. Now we have the technology that we need to begin sharing Visio 2010 diagrams.”

Chirino’s first Visio 2010 diagram was requested by the Strategic Automation Department, which acts as the liaison between a business unit that wants to automate a process and the IT department that will provide the solution. The diagram outlines the process that a business analyst follows to collect project requirements and documentation from the business unit and to work with the IT project manager to finalize a project schedule (Figure 1). The diagram links to a Microsoft Excel 2010

"We want to provide our staff with a tool that simplifies complex business processes so that we can standardize those processes in a way that everyone understands and we can all work on the same page."

Leticia Chirino, Senior Trainer, Carnival Cruise Lines

spreadsheet that outlines the step-by-step process.

Then, a manager in the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QAQC) group asked Chirino to create a second Visio 2010 diagram. This multipage diagram clarifies job functions for a new department that is participating in the IT application approval process.

BenefitsCarnival Cruise Lines is using Microsoft Visio 2010 diagrams to simplify intra-departmental processes and improve project management. This second benefit will evolve when the company deploys Visio Services in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. “With Visio 2010, it’s easy to link to data, to publish to SharePoint, and to share diagrams through a browser,” says Chirino. “These benefits point to a rapid rate of adoption, so we’ll quickly maximize our return on investment.”

Fast, Easy Diagrams When Chirino worked on her first Visio 2010 diagram, she knew that Carnival employees would be impressed by the ease

of use. “The Infinite Canvas option is amazing,” she says. “You move a shape off

the screen and it automatically extends the size of the canvas to fit in the new shape. It only took me a day to create the QAQC diagram, compared to writing out the process, which would have taken a couple of weeks.”

Chirino used the dynamic, data-driven capabilities within Visio 2010 to save time creating the Strategic Automation Processes diagram. “I wrote out the process steps in an Excel 2010 spreadsheet and connected it to the diagram,” she says. “As I worked with the business stakeholder to optimize the process, I changed the steps around in Excel, and they were automatically reflected in the diagram, saving me between two and three hours of tedious work.”

Improved Project ManagementUsing the Strategic Automation Process diagram, Carnival employees in the Strategic Automation Department are tracking the requisite steps to complete each service request more efficiently. And

Figure 1 - Carnival Cruise Lines is using Microsoft Visio 2010 to help staff members streamline workflows to improve business efficiency. This diagram links to a Microsoft Excel 2010 spreadsheet for easy updating.

in the Project Management Office, employees are already creating SharePoint sites to help manage projects so that they are completed quickly and efficiently. “When we deploy Visio Services, I can publish a project workflow diagram that’s continually refreshed with linked data,” says Chirino. “We used to have constant meetings for project updates; now, people will be able to save time by just checking the diagram.”

Simplified ProcessesThe Strategic Automation Department is using its data-driven Visio 2010 diagram to expedite the delivery of new IT services requested by business units so they can more quickly benefit from automated processes. And the QAQC group used Visio to save time communicating the role of a new department that it brought into an updated IT application approval process, so the IT department doesn’t have to wait for approvals. “Visio 2010 can communicate the new responsibilities much more clearly and inexpensively than training,” says Chirino.

Microsoft Visio 2010Microsoft Visio 2010 takes diagramming to a new level with dynamic, data-driven visualization tools and templates, enhanced process management capabilities, and advanced web sharing. Combine real-time data from multiple sources, including Microsoft SharePoint lists, Microsoft Excel 2010, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008, into one powerful diagram using vibrant graphics like icons and data bars. Use subprocesses to manage processes and to validate rules and logic to ensure accuracy and consistency across the organization. Design workflows in Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and, without using code, export them to Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 for real-time execution and monitoring. Share refreshable, data-linked diagrams over the web with anyone, even those who don't have Visio 2010.

For more information about Microsoft Visio 2010, go to:visio.microsoft.com

For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about Carnival Cruise Lines call (305) 599-2600or visit the website at: www.carnival.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published May 2012

Software and Services Microsoft Visio− Microsoft Visio Professional 2010

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

Technologies− Microsoft Visio Services in Microsoft

SharePoint Server 2010