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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:
SmartDraw |
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evaluation |
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1. How useable is the tool?
A range of keyboard commands are provided in the basic
instructions, which is helpful. For
the wireframing function, the handles of the layout and text boxes are a little
difficult to get hold of, and also it is not clear why a text box is needed over
the top of the layout box, rather than just typing in the layout box. As for the
freedom from the general business of drawing and joining connecting lines in a
diagram, this is a big plus in SmartDraw’s favour.
2. How well does the tool help the user
reach the desired goal(s), i.e. visually mapping a site, visually mapping a
page?
The diagramming function is very quick and easy to edit, although
not quite as streamlined in practice as a video comparing the program to Visio
would have us believe, at least for the first time user (see SmartDraw (2012b)).
The wireframe function takes a
little more practice, and at least a day of practice would be necessary for a
novice to become adept at editing and manipulating the components.
3. What kinds of collaboration does it
allow?
Although SmartDraw does not offer the real time collaboration of
programs such as Google Draw (n.d.), it is still an effective collaborative tool
for charting iterations of a design. The email sharing option is effective, with
appropriate version control built in.
4. How easily can the processes/results
be shared?
The one-click options to export visuals to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel or to save as a .pdf, to print or email are a streamlined feature and all work well with both diagrams:
and also with wireframes:
After sending an image to PowerPoint, the image can also be saved as a JPEG.
5. Is it cost effective, time
effective?
Creating a single wireframe takes about 25 minutes for a novice user,
while creating a web site diagram takes about 15 minutes for the same amount of
experience. With some practice,
SmartDraw would save a great deal of time, simply by removing the need to join
lines to diagram components, as in other tools (Gliffy (2012), for
example). As
Linowski (2009, para. 1)
notes, this can also be avoided by choosing not to have lines at all during decision-making
stages. Compared with the price of Microsoft Visio (2012), ($900.00),
SmartDraw is priced well for IA purposes, although a comparison of performance
has not been conducted for this evaluation. As for time effectiveness,
SmartDraw takes longer to learn how to use than Gliffy or Google Drawings
(n.d.), but this is because it has many more features and functions, and
cannot be compared strictly against other simpler drawing
tools.
Rating 3/5
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