If your work requires you to create diagrams, you might be familiar with draw.io (also diagrams.net), an open-source, web-based diagramming tool offering complex and niche diagrams: network diagrams, server rack diagrams, floor plans, and more. You might also use Miro, an innovation workspace that lets you virtually collaborate with colleagues on a variety of tasks and projects — whether it’s brainstorming, planning, designing, or building the next big thing.

Technical diagramming tools help engineers and other IT workers visually represent systems, infrastructures, and complex interactions. These diagrams can help to optimize cloud performance and, in turn, ship products and services more efficiently. But not all diagramming tools were created equal. Some tools have a limited library of shapes and symbols, make it difficult to collaborate or communicate with team members, or require a separate tool for exporting and sharing work.

This month we’re thrilled to share several powerful updates that will amplify your planning, collaboration, and user experience. An enhanced Planner app, smarter Azure DevOps integration, and AI-powered alt text suggestions: These updates and more were designed to streamline your workflow and boost productivity. Not to mention we have three accessibility updates to improve how assistive technology works with Miro, helping to ensure everyone can experience the Miro magic.

Inefficient processes carry a big price tag for businesses. Formstack’s State of Digital Maturity report found that 51% of U.S. workers spend at least two hours a day on repetitive or inefficient tasks. That translates into an estimated $14,560 per employee per year that could be invested in growth. One of the best tools for streamlining efficiencies (and banishing inefficiencies) is a process map.

If your organization uses Miro, you might already know that it’s a user-friendly, intuitive workspace where you and your colleagues can collaborate, brainstorm, manage projects, give presentations, and more. But did you know you can also use Miro to build org charts? In this post, we’ll share several ready-made org chart templates that will save your organization time as you plan for the future.

Whether a developer is maintaining an existing product or building a new one, they’re likely not doing it in a silo. From teammates to designers and product managers, there can be many stakeholders for even just a small feature change. That’s why it’s so important to have a software architecture diagram: a source of truth that outlines your software’s structure and the relationship between its different components.

Today’s business leaders agree that innovation is critical to survival. But fewer than 10% of companies report being satisfied with their innovation performance. If you want the advantage, you have to be speedy and agile. That’s why Miro and Microsoft are joining forces to give users the tools they need to streamline complex workflows and deliver innovative products and services to the global market.

In December 1921, industrial psychologists Lillian Gilbreth and Frank Bunker Gilbreth presented a new model for problem solving to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in New York City. Their “process chart” — known today as a flowchart — is a method of visualizing a process in order to improve it.

In fast-paced workplaces, it’s easy to assume that the loudest, most outgoing voices always have the best ideas. This assumption, however, overlooks the dangers of extrovert bias — the subtle (and often unintentional) tendency to favor the contributions of more vocal team members over those with quieter personalities. Extrovert bias imperils innovation by creating missed opportunities for breakthroughs. This leads to homogeneous solutions and can drive away valuable talent.