Dialpad

As CEO of Dialpad, Craig Walker and his team are working to revolutionize business communications. You're probably familiar with their product UberConference, which aims to revolutionize the conference call experience from start to finish. Of course, revolution always comes at a price—in this case, it’s the inherent difficulty of turning the status quo upside-down.

Craig said, “In creating our products, there are a lot of flows. If someone calls into the service right before a conference starts, how do we handle them? If someone calls in after the conference has started, but doesn’t enter the right PIN, where do we send them? There are so many if/then variables and potential flows that we need to chart out. This comes into play particularly when we work with the engineering team. They have to figure out every scenario in a way that makes sense, both for us and for the end user.”

Replacing Visio

Craig has always relied on flowcharts to convey information quickly and easily. In the past, he used Visio to map out product design, org charts, and other documentation. He would even print them out 15-inch flowcharts so everyone could see them. But while Visio’s functionality as a desktop program allowed for flowchart printing, users had no way to collaborate simultaneously or make edits online.

Then Craig switched to a Mac and could no longer use Visio. He tried Omnigraffle but could never get comfortable with the tool. He was searching for an online version of Visio when he came across Lucidchart. He received an independent evaluation from a team member that it was the best solution out there.

In addition, both Lucidchart and UberConference are cloud-based software packages, founded by former Google execs, and backed by Google Ventures. So it was only natural for the Switch team to switch their diagramming to Lucidchart. Craig describes the discovery of Lucidchart as “fortuitous.” He says:

“Since we’re G Suite users, we like to use everything in the cloud. If there’s a better, cheaper alternative online, why use downloaded software?”

Collaborating seamlessly with Lucidchart

By moving to Lucidchart, Craig and his team can make edits, leave comments, and present their work—all without leaving their desks. Craig describes their process:

“First, we come up with what we want a product to do. And as we start working with engineering to get it built, the first thing I’ll do is scope it out with Lucidchart. So it’s very simple to make a step-by-step process that engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders can refer to. That way, we’re all on the same page.”

By using this system, UberConference has managed to build a host of useful and innovative features, like the ability to see exactly who’s on the call and who’s talking when. It’s easy to download a transcript or audio file of the call and even put “earmuffs” on certain users to selectively mute your end of the conversation.

As the company has grown, their need for a diagramming tool has expanded to several avenues, including sales, engineering, product development, and human resources. Because Lucidchart is such a versatile tool—capable of handling flowcharts, value stream maps, network diagrams, mind maps, org charts, and more—it’s been a perfect fit for the entire organization. Plus, Lucidchart’s seamless integration with Google Drive has sped adoption across the domain.

Craig says that Lucidchart has made communication easier for his entire company:

“It’s changed everything. I think a picture’s worth a thousand words, so rather than writing up a 20 page product requirements document or sketching out a complex org chart, I chart it out visually. It’s so much easier.”

UberConference used the intuitive interface and real-time collaboration of Lucidchart to quickly communicate integral ideas amongst themselves. Lucidchart helped them generate crucial documents that are always accessible, editable, and visual.