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We just started a small startup company with 4-5 guys and since now we were working by talking to each other about the requirements and maybe some hand drawn sketches about the front end of the project and how it would be look like.

But we decided to extend our company and hire more frontend + backend developers and more organize our projects and tasks. But I am not sure if is it a good choice to spend time on learning tools like Adobe XD, Balsamiq, etc, then trying to create wireframes for frontend part of the projects?

And also like to know creating wireframes is the responsibility of who? Software architect? Front end developer? Project owner?

user3486308
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2 Answers2

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Wire frames are pretty much a must if you ask me. What tools you use is down to personal preference.

Wireframes get everyone on the same page with what the end product will look like and what features each page will have.

You can immediately see if there are potential problems, eg. "there's no cancel button!", "How will the user get to this page?", "We've run out of screen space to put buttons"

The designers can run off and start doing to full design, while developers start writing the pages and backend functionality. Project managers can count the number of screens and work out how long its going to take to finish and what functionality hasn't been included yet.

As to responsibility, as with all things its a group task. The point of making them wireframes rather than full designs is to make them quick and easy to create. Easy enough that anyone can contribute and everyone can understand.

If you have a project manager, I would say its their responsibility to make sure they get done at an early stage.

As a developer I would tend to push back on the business to provide wireframes as part of the requirements, but if they aren't there I just knock them up and add them. Gives people a chance to yell if I'm missing something and helps manage expectations.

Ewan
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  • Would you consider pencil and paper (which the OP currently uses) also a tool for creating wireframes? – Bart van Ingen Schenau Dec 17 '20 at 08:06
  • sure, i mean step 1 whiteboard. But its inefficent compared to the tools – Ewan Dec 17 '20 at 09:58
  • I disagree, tools are, in my experience, inefficient, certainly in the earliest stages. They usually lead to endless pixel-nudging and colour choosing, when all that's required is a sketch. On a whiteboard it's super easy to erase a control and redraw it somewhere else. At the end take a photo and stash it somewhere. Tools also imply UX experts, training and licensing costs. Where management haven't got the imagination to see past the sketch, then you do need the whole gamut of UX, graphic designers, PhotoShop realism, etc. – David Kerr Dec 17 '20 at 15:01
  • well up to you, but things like balsamiq are designed so you _cant_ do colours, pixels etc. – Ewan Dec 17 '20 at 15:23
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As you're a startup, I'd recommend sticking with sketches as even wireframes get bogged down in getting to pixel perfection. A sketch is better in my opinion because: -

  1. They are quick to produce.
  2. They are democratic; anyone can create them, not just UX "experts".
  3. They don't distract from discovering, playing and iterating. Rub things out with an eraser, highlight key things. If you don't like the design, throw it away and try again;
  4. Because they are so easy and cheap there's little chance of getting attached to a sketch.
  5. You can doodle on a sketch with a pen during discussions/thought; a drawing program is always that little bit harder/slower to use.
  6. Easy collaboration round a white-board or a sheet of A4
  7. and it can't be mistaken for a shippable prototype!
David Kerr
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