There are some tools I don’t hand my son. He’s five and frankly there are reasons why I don’t want him working with chain saws. I occasionally need a chain saw to cut down a tree or cut up a fallen limb. But it’s not a tool I’d ask him to use.

I feel the same way about SharePoint Designer (SPD) — in the hands of some and in the right circumstances it can be a powerful tool capable of saving organizations money. However, in the hands of others, it can be a disruptive influence that makes it harder for organizations to have a well governed and used system.

In this article we’ll walk through a high-level summary of SPD’s features and how these features should and should not be used. At the end of this article you should be able to identify those situations where SPD can be helpful and identify situations where using SPD may be more of a hindrance than a help.

http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200708/ij_08_20_07a.html