Rapid Prototyping Tools Revisited
by Dan HarrelsonEarlier this year I wrote about the value of prototyping. Along with my thoughts on why and how to create effective design prototypes, I listed some rapid prototyping tools. My hope was to offer non-technical folks in the UX field the inspiration and the means to create something interactive instead of a standard wireframe and visual design comp.
I’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the original post. Sixty of you offered suggestions for additional tools and techniques. In the months following I’ve collected these, and found a few of my own. The list of rapid prototyping tools has been updated and can be found below. The list has grown to 42 items with 18 new or updated tools. Please comment with your own perspective on these tools and send me links for more! I’ll update the list (hopefully more frequently) with your suggestions.
Tomorrow I’ll be leading a workshop at UX Week titled “Making Things”. Yep, you guessed it, we’ll be breaking out laptops and building prototypes! As of right now, there’s still four spots available, so either sign up for the workshop if you are already a UX Week attendee or register for the last two days of the conference (use the promo code blog for 10% off).
Entries (RSS)
September 16th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
[...] just updated my list of rapid prototyping tools over on the Adaptive Path blog. 18 new items were either updated or added (mostly [...]
September 17th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Great list – I’ve been an avid Balsamiq user for the past year but I’m going to have a look at some of these.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
–Rob
September 17th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Hi there, there’s a little error on the Balsamiq Platform cell. Mockups’ correct platform are: “web, win, mac, linux, confluence, jira, xwiki, fogbugz”
September 17th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I haven’t used anything quicker than Balsamiq, but am looking at SmartDraw as a mockup tool. It might be one to add to this list too.
September 17th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
WireframeSketcher is a wireframing plugin for Eclipse. Also works with Aptana Studio, Flex Builder and other Eclipse-based tools. It’s available for $75. Open-source developers and other do-gooders can get a free license key.
September 17th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Just what i was looking for – although slight shame the embedded google doc iframe made your wonderful list hard to read!
September 17th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Stephan, thanks for the suggestion to make the list easier to read. I added a link to the full spreadsheet in the post body.
September 17th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
[...] блоге компании Adaptive Path опубликована сводная таблица современных десктопных и онлайновых [...]
September 18th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Would be great to see HotGloo listed. If you need any further informations just let me know.
Thanks, WD
September 20th, 2009 at 6:48 am
[...] I continue with presenting the prototype, I just want to point you to Dan Harrelson’s post, who also lists Flex as means for prototyping, just in case that you think that Flex might be too [...]
September 20th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Dan,
Thanks for posting this!
I’m actually wotking with another tool that’s worth considering for rapid prototyping of engaging online experiences. It’s called Sprout Builder.
I’d love your feedback.
Best.
Roland
September 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Great list! For prototyping with dynamic effects and animations, and without any coding, Expression Blend/Sketchflow and Fireworks are way ahead of the others. Maybe Adobe Catalyst will join them when it gets out of beta. Have I missed any serious contenders in this class?
I tried Flex; without programming knowledge I found it impossible to use. Ditto for Dreamweaver.
Powerpoint actually has some amazing transition and animation capabilities; it’s a good introduction to effects for beginners.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:20 pm
[...] day. In the meanwhile Dan Harrelson at Adpative Path has a nice list of Prototyping Tools in his article. Many are mentioned in this post since they do double duty. Here then are a few products and [...]
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
[...] Rapid Prototyping Tools Revisited- Adaptive Path, September 16, 2009 [...]
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:11 am
Balsamiq Mockups is for desktop too through Adobe Air. It’s great little app!
October 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
[...] Rapid Prototyping Tools Revisited (adaptivepath.com) [...]
October 18th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Here’s another tool for your list:
Workflow for Visio
It’s a plug-in for Microsoft Visio which can generate clickable prototypes AND makes wireframing way faster & more fun. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Julien
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:19 am
[...] 当然原型工具还有很多，您可以在这篇文章对比更多可用以进行原型开发的工具。 [...]
January 2nd, 2010 at 4:01 am
[...] En resumen, actualmente existen múltiples herramientas para crear wireframes estáticos y prototipos clickables. Puedes encontrar una amplia tabla resumen en en este articulo de Dan Harrelson. [...]
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:09 am
[...] Prototyping Rapid Prototyping Tools [...]