Status: Draft (13 Nov 2008)
Foreword
Over the last ten years, the Internet has gone from being the product of technology to the media channel of choice for much of the general public. Designers and Developers have forged together innovative, entertaining and essential landmarks that can be accessed by computer, mobile and TV. As the importance of access, effectiveness and ergonomics of the web has become self evident, the role of the user experience professional* has become the missing link between technology and people. We aim to make the web more usable, accessible, findable and practical.
State of the industry
When you look at the practices and processes in UE, it's evident that much of it is based on sound research and theory. We have the ISO standard for UCD and numerous methodologies for project lifecycles. In reality though, many of us have found that although acceptance for UE as a principle is high, projects are seldom led by it or follow the formal processes that define it. Many digital projects are governed by a wider project management process, whilst others are less formal in approach; planning and production are not always in sync. This can be for many reasons, so we're not passing judgement when we say this - just telling it as it is.
User Experience (especially the planning and the testing aspects) are often trimmed down to suit the project constraints and so the benefits of formal UCD lifecycles are not always realised to their full potential. Rather than preach about how this is the wrong way to do things, we think it's more practical to find ways to dovetail into the reality of project life more effectively. This means looking at all aspects of our industry as a whole and communicating what works when it comes to skills development, resource availability, production, delivery and standards. As with any good user-centred approach, we've taken the advice of clients, agencies, practitioners and laypeople to help shape a new and lasting era for the digital User Experience industry.
In creating Wireframeworks, we are launching an open initiative for the UE profession to use, abuse and improve. A lose framework that isn't as rigid as some existing UCD and project lifecycles, but still helps you implement best practice. A framework that is supported by the resources and information you need to hit the ground running; whether you're long in the tooth or just cutting them. A framework you can make use of in the real world and can contribute to. A framework is constantly in use and constantly evolving to suit our users needs.
*Abbreviated to UE and also including Information Architecture, User Centred Design, Usability and Accessibility
Consistency & Standardisation
A common complaint made towards UE is that practitioners all have their own way of doing things. This is natural for a profession that is based highly on an individual's knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, this often leads to inconsistency, as much of the communication (especially visual) can be bespoke to the job at hand. When resources are changed or continuity of resources not possible, time and money is often wasted in taking a new approach.
We aim to help improve standardisation across the industry, by evangelising a consistent style of communication wherever possible. We hope that by encouraging practitioners to adopt aspects of Wireframeworks.org, project owners can have increased faith in using UE resources in the knowledge that continuity will not cause them headaches later on. By making the most effective ways of communicating UE ideas publicly available, we intend to blow any remaining smoke from the mirrors and ensure the advice we give is not dismissed as trickery.
Valuable Resources
When it comes to getting on with the job, there are many deliverables the UE professional can be expected to produce. Personas, Journeys, Sitemaps, Wireframes, Audits, Reports - the list can seem endless and it's not always clear what will prove useful.
Creating all of these deliverables can be time consuming and so this often leads to corners being cut or detail being missed. What we have found is that much of the time taken up in producing these documents is focused on the layout, style and format of them.
Within Wireframeworks, you can always find up to date templates and guides on how to use them for the most common types of deliverable in UE. We have brought together the different approaches we have seen used in the field and broken them down in a way that makes them accessible for anybody who needs to use them. We promise to keep these resources free and to credit anybody who creates them. We also encourage feedback on your own experiences using them and will strive to make them as effective as possible so that UE professionals can spend more time using their knowledge and less time wrestling with templates.
Support for the next generation
One of the biggest problems facing the UE profession is the skills gap. UE professionals pride themselves on their advice being based on deep, personal experience. Of course, this is hugely valuable to those working with such practitioners, but those wanting to enter the profession are finding it hard to break through.
The most established route to becoming a UE professional (other than through sheer experience) is that of academic training. HCI and Usability courses have increased in both number and quality and whilst this is proving a solid foundation for UE professionals to enter the market with, they are often ill-equipped to take on practical roles in a planning or production environment that is not fully UE focused.
Wireframeworks.org aims to make the training and support barriers for new professionals less procrastinated. By providing the tools, resources and guidance from those who have been there before, we hope to put our junior peers on a fast track to becoming effective, but also giving them a platform to move our industry forward at a faster pace by being more focused on the future and less on learning about the past.
Call to action
Wireframeworks.org intends to be an open community project, overseen by senior UE professionals, adopted by agencies and freelancers and respected by project owners. We invite UE professionals to join us as either supporters or members of our forthcoming executive committee. To do so, sign up to our mailing list, subscribe to our blog and twitter feeds and we'll be in touch as Wireframeworks.org moves from its current 'alpha' state to 'beta'.