Digital Mountain Top

Ok, so I'm sure Wilde wouldn't be over joyed at his work being used in the context of web development, but he had a point and it applies to the wireframe process. Yes, wireframes can limit creativity but they also limit scope creep. So should we use them and what other solutions are there?

I use wireframes a lot and find them pretty useful for defining functionality for developers, keeping a project in scope and helping clients to understand functionality. Plus they are good for understanding user interaction before a build.

The problem with them is that not only do they limit creativity/innovation in house but clients also can find it difficult to think of wireframes as just defining functional spec rather than design, making it hard for them to except new layouts/designs. Another problem is that often the wireframing process can mean that an Information Architect can end up defining a site's functionality with little involvement from the rest of the team - who do after all hold a lot of useful information.

So what are the solutions to these problems? One idea is to abandon wireframes and give clients, designers and developers a written spec with a written visual guide e.g. content area should take 50% of the page. Although this is it can make it easy to miss functionality out of a spec. A wireframe can be used as a "thinking device", before writing out the tech spec to help solve this problem, but functionality can still be easy to miss in a build if a spec is simply written down. Wireframe abandonment perhaps isn't the perfect solution for the client either - wireframes help them to visualise functions and ideas too. It can also help the client get stakeholder buy in for sign off.

So if wireframe abandonment isn't the perfect solution, we need another solution. Maybe it's the approach we take to wireframes that needs to be reviewed. How detailed should they be? Just how much do we pin down functionality? Who should be involved? Who shouldn't be involved? When should they be involved? How are wireframes presented to the client? How much of the site is wireframed?

It would be a nice have "one solution fits all" ideal. That's not going to happen, so it would be good to have a solution that works most of the time. I still don't know what that is - I would like to know if there are any other good alternatives to wireframes being used out there though. I will investigate and experiment!

If you haven't come across wireframes before read this: "Introduction to wireframes" and for further reading go to Wireframes Magazine.