The main wireframe function is to provide the groundwork for future design. Additionally, it also opens up dialog, refines scope, establishes project direction and creates the feeling that progress was done. But wireframe couldn’t do all these nice things without preparation done by you. Wireframe presentation to the customer or in some cases to the team is the critical moment. Let’s talk in details about main obstacles with which you can encounter.
1. Differences in Abstract Thinking
You may know a few people that are abstract thinking geniuses, but for all others working with abstraction is some type of the mental gymnastic. After the wireframe presentation, everyone who saw it started constructing their own vision of how the site will look and feel like. Heuristics and assumptions are highly used by us in our lives. And during the project process your team, you and your clients also use them. This is a reasonable behavior but can lead to the unmet expectations. Be careful with it.
2. The Power of Suggestion
The way in which you present your wireframe and the wireframe quality have the same influence power on your customer. So, if you have created the imperfect wireframe, but you have great sales abilities, you can obtain approval of it. Generally speaking, it is done in contrary to the main project aim. On the other hand, you can have ideal wireframe, but lack of sell skills, enthusiasm and confidence can lead to the bad understanding of the main idea.
The best antidote for this is to gather and analyze important for the project information. The main aim in this process must not be to gain some quantity, but to find and understand insights. If you share these conclusions with your team and a customer, they can help move the conversation on the impersonal level. In this case, even if your clients trust you, they will be still asking critical questions. Beware if wireframe meeting was held without any discussion or if you felt that you were selling wireframe solution too much. If you do not see any problems now, they can pop-up in the future, on the latest stages of the design process.
3. Ineffective feedback
After wireframe presentation, clients often provide an unhelpful critique. In some case you can assist them to provide useful feedback. Help must be based on the client skills and personality, but we will provide most general questions bellow that can inspire you for right questions. Use them next time you do wireframe presentation:
- Does your team/client understand why this meeting is held? Start the meeting from the clarification for everyone what is the main purpose of it.
- Do your clients understand what the wireframe is? Have you explained this for them before?
- Do your clients know what the wireframe is not? Have they expectations to see details of the visual design? In this case, you may show them the example of past wireframe and the final design that was made.
- Have you told them what type of feedback you need and what type is not appropriative? For example, “This title is very important, so it must be more emphasized” is about site goals and is appropriate. “Can this title be yellow and underlined so it stands out more?” is about design mechanics and is not appropriate.
- Do you tell your client/team why their feedback is important?
And with what problems do you collide during the wireframe presentation? Leave your stories in the comments!