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This month I looked at a card sorting tool, a diagramming
and wireframing tool, and a rapid prototyping tool.
Here are my thoughts:
Balsamiq | ||
evaluation |
1. How useable is the tool?
This user came to
Balsamiq after, frankly, being intimidated by Axure. So this is the context in which the
evaluation exists. In the case of
Balsamiq Mockups, it is obvious early on that this is a very enticing and even
fun tool to explore. The hand-drawn
feel of the interface gives a wonderfully ephemeral sense to the environment,
which could serve to relieve the stress which a client may feel about the task
at hand, and also serve to communicate that the version presented is not
‘precious’ in any way and can be changed at the drop of a hat, which would
support creative thinking. It
appears that Mockups aims to be the unintimidating missing link between pencil
and paper, and computer prototyping software, with its menu of 75 ‘already
drawn’ page elements, easy editing toolbar and click and drag
manoeuvrability. Somehow I
expected the widget menu to scroll across by dragging the cursor left and right,
instead of holding down an arrow, which is my mobile-phone GUI thinking coming
to the fore perhaps. It is easy to
import images, although the flickr option did not work in this test. An online
add-on called 'Mockups to go' features a range of further page elements from which
to choose. It does have to be
mentioned again that a seven-day trial is not long for a thorough testing of a
potential new tool.
2. How well does the tool help the user
reach the desired goal(s), i.e. constructing a web site sketchup/wireframe?
Balsamiq Mockups is a great alternative to the
complex and more time-heavy prototyping tools, such as the aforementioned Axure
RP. Less is invested in Mockups
examples, so they are simple to change if the client needs to make
adjustments. With its inclusion of
mobile phone mockup elements, it is flexible for a range of scenarios. A staff member from another IA
prototyping tool’s team commented that ‘complex functionality is difficult to
understand unless actually experienced’ (in Watson, 2011, comments para. 6).
The argument that more complex
functionality needs to be included in a prototyping tool is valid for some
situations, and perhaps needs to be applied on a case-by-case basis. Also,
it depends on at what stage Balsamiq is
included in order to present ideas, for example, for some design briefs it
may be all the prototyping necessary to reach agreement and get on with the live
coding. In other scenarios, it may
be used in the first of several stages of information architecture
decision-making, depending on the nature of the project and the client’s goals.
For the purpose of the above
mentioned low-fi idea communication, it will be ideal for those clients who are
comfortable with the style. The
personality of the tool will usually work in its favour, except that you can’t
have everyone like you all of the time, so there will be the odd situation where
it might be judged too casual or freestyle-looking, as well as too static. Balsamiq’s argument is that it
does one thing, which is to present a static sketchup, really well, and that is
its strength.
3. What kinds of collaboration does it
allow?
Mockups, as mentioned, is not an interactive tool, but changes can
be tracked when sharing files with team members through Dropbox.
4. How easily can the processes/results
be shared?
The finished mock-up can be exported to a .png
image or .pdf, or printed (see video ‘Intro to Balsamiq mockups’ at Balsamiq
Studios, LLC (2012a)). It can also be exported as
.xml.
5. Is it cost effective, time
effective?
A yes for both cost and time for Mockups. The time saved on effectively
communicating ideas to the client or team will add to the costs saved on
avoiding purchase or subscription to other more expensive tools. While it has been noted that Mockingbird and
Mockflow are two
arguably equally good tools in their own rights, and that Lumzy is a great absolutely free alternative to
Mockups (Watson, 2011, para. 4, 7; Dolon, 2011), from reading up on the others
and giving it a workout myself this week, Mockups stands out on ease of use,
with style and friendliness of GUI thrown in.
Rating 4/5
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