The Importance of Wireframe Expertise
November 27, 2012
Employing a home-building metaphor, mobile software firm Zeus River laments about clients who insist, “‘I Already Have Wireframes, I Just Need You to Code It’.” Making that demand of a software engineer, writer Milan Gokhale says, is akin to a non-architect drawing up their own blueprints and telling the contractor, “I just need someone to lay the bricks.” The article explains:
“A house isn’t constructed until it has gone through a lengthy, rigorous architecture process. High-quality software operates the same way. If you want to maximize the value of your investment, you need an engineer to think through many long-term considerations. . . .
“Wireframes are sort of like interior design; they describe what the colour of the couch is, and where the couch should be located. These are not the concerns of your architect when you’re building a home, and they are not the concerns of your software developer when he/she is trying to build your app. If you didn’t involve a developer in your wire-framing process, you’re setting yourself up for a situation in which the couch looks gorgeous in a house that will crumble at any minute.”
Oh, you say, but picking colors is much more fun! That may be, but at least fork up the dough to bring your developer in on the party. Doing so is sure to save time, money, and frustration in the long run. The frustration, by the way, is also felt by developers; Gokhale says he and his partner now decline any projects with pre-drawn wireframes. It just isn’t worth the hassle.
Launched in September of 2011, Zeus River is located in Toronto, Ontario. The founding partners, both experienced enterprise software engineers, formed their own company in order to work in the more exciting, innovative arena of mobile technology. Good luck, guys.
Cynthia Murrell, November 27, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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