Does Investment in Wireframing Software Pay?
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Written by: pidoco1
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Word Count: 581 |
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 |
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It is clear that wireframing software is helpful in website and application development. It often serves as a planning and communication tool, which helps everyone involved in the process to contribute ideas and to stay on track. However, before enjoying the benefits of wireframing software one has to pay for it. In this article I would like to look at how the benefits of wireframing software can be interpreted from the monetary perspective. We always hear that the ROI on wireframing software is high, but how exactly does wireframing software help us save money?
Wireframing software helps stay within budget
Before I talk about saving costs I have to say that very frequently development projects run out of their budget. This happens mostly due to the lack of planning and the inability to estimate the amount of time and effort needed to produce the result. Customers tend to underestimate the investment required for the development, while developers tend to overestimate their physical capabilities. This leads to a half-ready product or one of the parties being frustrated. Wireframing software can help plan the project carefully and determine its limits at the very start. Defining and enforcing budget constraints is an important step in cost management.
Wireframing software helps minimize mistakes
No matter how hard developers and user experience professionals try to put themselves in users' shoes, the sad truth is that mistakes in development are inevitable, and most of them become evident after the launch of the website or application. Making edits and polishing the design cost time and money, and this might or might not have been provided for by the budget. Some wireframing software allows usability testing by independent users at the early stages of development, which helps discover and fix design flaws before design implementation. Early testing may also reveal some features that are too burdensome and not worth implementing at all. Thus, wireframing software can help save on mistakes as well as on wasteful features. Improving the user interface design sooner rather than later also may save you customers that would have left your website otherwise.
Wireframing software increases the speed of development
Wireframing software makes work on the project structured. Structured means that work is faster and more productive. Wireframing software boosts efficiency in a number of ways, starting from the mentioned usability testing and fast reiteration cycles to better collaboration within the team. Some online wireframing software even allows team members to work on the project simultaneously. On average, wireframing software is said to speed the development process up by up to 30%. Think about it: if you don't use any wireframing software it means you might be losing up to 30% of your time. The time advantage that wireframe software creates can be vital to success (or failure) of a product. In our highly competitive world everyone strives to get their product to market first. Those who lag behind might not even be able to compete with their more efficient rivals.
So how high would be the return on investment of wireframing software? It is impossible to produce a number without any particular project in mind. But to me the answer is obvious. Saving up to 30% of the development time, smoother communication and development, elimination of design flaws and unnecessary features by far outweigh the price of wireframing software.
Pidoco.com – Interface Design, Wireframe, Wireframes, Wireframe Software, Interface Design Software, Online Wireframe Tool, Wireframe Tool, Interface Prototyping, Clickable Wireframes, Usability Testing and Digital Paper Prototyping. User centered design for improved UI Design.
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