Who needs Visio, when you can use Dia

In some of my jobs I’ve used MS Visio to create diagrams of all types, such as system diagrams and processing flow diagrams. It’s always been a good tool for creating these diagrams but is not part of MS Office package, therefore requires a separate purchase, which isn’t always possible.

Recently, I discovered a great open source (thus free) program called Dia. This provides almost all the features of Visio that I actually used and is highly recommended. According to their homepage, it runs on GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Unix and Windows – I’ve used the Windows version with no problems. You can see some screenshots here.

I’ve been using Dia to create a Software Testing diagram, so that I can visualise the various stages of Software Testing, as covered in the ISEB/ISTQB Foundation certification that I’m currently studying. Below is an example of a diagram I’m working on, created in Dia.

Dia saves in its own .dia format but you can Export to all sorts of formats, including .png which is the format of the diagram example above.

Dia also looks useful for producing UML diagrams, as it has a specific set of UML drawing tools that can be selected. That feature alone could save users a fortune as many UML-specific programs can be very expensive.

Hopefully, next on the list for Dia’s creators will be an XML Spy style app.

Pat is an excellent one-stop-shop for testing Apps and Websites. He is a self-starter who just knows what needs to be done and gets on with it, and is responsive to requests for any specific testing requirements. He provides test plans and reports as a matter of course and was a pleasure to work with. I will definitely be working with Pat again if the opportunity arises.

Andrew Birley, PM, Storythings

Couldn’t recommend Pat highly enough. He goes beyond what you’d expect of a QA tester, commenting more broadly on user experience and even design. He’s quick, efficient and thorough – couldn’t ask for any more.

Rob Calvert, Director, Click

Pat performs comprehensive website testing for us, across all the main browsers and platforms, including mobile devices. His flexible approach to testing and clear feedback enable us to have confidence that the business end of our website is still working smoothly after system updates and changes.

Steve Liu, Manager, Wicked Lasers

We hired Pat to help with QA of a music streaming app. We needed someone with that magic “6th sense” of where the bugs are lurking; the ones which developers tend to miss. Pat more than fulfilled this need, with highly methodical approach and a great eye for detail.

Subsequently Pat has provided QA services for a personal app project of mine, finding a significant issue which had been lurking for some time.

Pat is a real asset to any team – highly competent technically but also easy going and a great guy to work with. Highly recommended!

Andrew Ebling, Head of App Development, Composed

Pat Walsh fixed my site within hours of my contacting him – his WordPress website fix service clearly works!

Douglas Green, Douglas Software

Pat came to Composed to respond to our (increasingly urgent) need of QA on mobile and web and I can testify he more than fulfilled the task. On the Android side, his very structured approach (first exploratory testing, then focus on defining test plans for a variety of scopes) and his clear knowledge of the latest mobile technologies have quickly paid off. He was involved directly with the developers (including myself) and this very dynamic relationship enabled us to annihilate bugs swiftly and efficiently.

David Ferrand, Android Developer, Composed

We’ve worked with Pat Walsh on a number of very different projects, from interactive video projects to mobile apps. His work is very thorough and has quickly become an essential and important phase of all the production work we do at Storythings. He’s thorough, diligent, and a pleasure to work with.

Matt Locke, Director, Storythings

Pat Walsh provided Kingston Valdes with a professional and personable service that was excellent value. The site was built and tested quickly, we are delighted with the results, and we have already had positive feedback from some of our clients. If you’re thinking of building a new site or adapting an existing one, I’d certainly recommend speaking with Pat about it.

Kathy Valdes, Kingston Valdes

Pat has been absolutely incredible at testing each of our projects he works on. He’s very professional, organised and diligent. I look forward to using him again in the future.

Oliver Thurtle, Director of Technology, Drum

Who needs Visio, when you can use Dia

Who needs Visio, when you can use Dia

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