Rock! Paper! iPad! Comparing UX Tools on the iPad to Traditional Methods

Michael Ryanryaninteractive@gmail.com@ryaninteractive

Comparing UX Tools on the iPad to Traditional Methods

Rock! Paper! iPad!

• Editable

• Reusable elements

• Searchable

• Professional looking artifacts

• Compact

• Creates a record

• Expands your brain

• Easy to share

• Green

Benefits of Digital

• Take notes

• Sketch

• Create prototypes

• Create flow diagrams

• Create affinity diagrams

• Read UX books and articles

The Tasks

• 44 UX Pros

• 36% have an iPad

• 5/2/11 - 5/6/11

• SurveyMonkey

• iPad only tablet studied

• Whiteboard = Paper

Survey

Rock! Paper! iPad!

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Daily Weekly Rarely Never

1. Take Notes

Frequency

Preferred Tools1. Take Notes

Rock (PC): Word

Paper: Notebook

(Ealanta, 2011)

iPad: Evernote

0%

13%

25%

38%

50%

Rock (PC) Paper iPad Other N/A

Preferred Medium1. Take Notes

0%

13%

25%

38%

50%

Daily Weekly Rarely Never

2. Sketch

Frequency

Preferred Tools2. Sketch

Rock (PC): Balsamiq Mockups

(Anderson, 2011)

Paper: Sketchbook

(Robb, 2011)

iPad: Many Apps

Penultimate

Ideas

Paper Desk

SketchBook

iDraw Draft

Sketchpad

PhotoShop

SketchyPad

BoxWave

iPad: Penultimate

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Rock (PC) Paper iPad Other N/A

Preferred Medium2. Sketch

0%

13%

25%

38%

50%

Daily Weekly Rarely Never

3. Create Prototypes

Frequency

Preferred Tools3. Create Prototypes

Rock (PC): Axure

Paper: Paper Prototyping

(Rivera, Lin, & Iki, 2011)

iPad: Various

Omnigraffle iMockups

Keynote

(Sharps, 2011) (Seto, 2011)    (Villamor, 2011)

Preferred Medium

0%

23%

45%

68%

90%

Rock (PC) Paper iPad Other N/A

3. Create Prototypes

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

Daily Weekly Rarely Never

4. Create Flow Diagrams

Frequency

Preferred Tools4. Create Flow Diagrams

Rock (PC): Visio

Paper: Flipchart/Whiteboard

(Gray, Brown, & Macanufo, 2011)

iPad: iThoughts

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Rock (PC) Paper iPad Other N/A

Preferred Medium4. Create Flow Diagrams

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

Daily Weekly Rarely Never

5. Create Affinity Diagrams

Frequency

Preferred Tools5. Create Affinity Diagrams

Rock (PC): Edistorm

Paper: Sticky Notes

(Glover, 2011)

iPad: Infinote

Preferred Medium5. Create Affinity Diagrams

0%

13%

25%

38%

50%

Rock (PC) Paper iPad Other N/A

0%

18%

35%

53%

70%

Daily Weekly Rarely Never

6. Read UX Books/Articles

Frequency

Preferred Tools6. Read UX Books/Articles

Rock (PC): Google Reader

Paper: Books and Journals

iPad: Flipboard

0%

13%

25%

38%

50%

Rock (PC) Paper iPad Other N/A

Preferred Medium6. Read UX Books/Articles

The Winner

You!

Each medium has its own strengths.Pick what works.

• "Note taking - quick typing"

• "Prototypes and flowcharts, as they are more complex in nature and need complex software to support/update"

• "Detail design work and complicated design. It is easier to make changes and to keep the design clean"

• "Where you need to reuse elements a lot"

• "When I want to show my work to senior management… share my work with remote teams"

Rock (PC) is good for...

• "Early diagrams and sketches... because they allow you to create your concepts on the fly without having to struggle with software"

• "Things that need to be fast, easily discardable / changeable"

• "Flow diagrams, prototyping... general analysis. You can get your ideas down much more quickly in a format that can be viewed... by many - allows for better collaboration"

• "Anything collaborative... all participants can contribute on equal ground"

• Reading long form text

Paper is good for...

• "Don't know"

• "Pretending that you are doing something profound when you haven't a clue"

• Entertainment: Angry Birds, Netflix, Social Media

• "Sketching on site"

• "Note taking is great on iPad because it's always with me, and I can transfer my notes to any computer"

• "Article reading... because I can squeeze it in while waiting for meetings to start, on the couch, traveling, etc.

• "...a lot of potential on the research side of our work"

iPad is good for...

The iPad at 1...

(Paine, 2011)

Thank you.

Michael Ryanryaninteractive@gmail.com@ryaninteractive

Appendix: References• Anderson, R. (2011). Review: Balsamiq Mockups. Dreaming in Javascript. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://

dreaminginjavascript.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/review-balsamiq-mockups/

• Ealanta, C. (2011). UX Australia – Wee notepad. Rook in the Garret's Blog. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://rookinthegarret.wordpress.com/

• Glover, B. (2011). Affinity Diagrams. Fluid. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://wiki.fluidproject.org/display/fluid/Affinity+Diagrams

• Gray, D., Brown, S., & Macanufo, J. (2010).Gamestorming: A playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and changemakers. Beijing: O'Reilly

• Paine, S. (2011). Baby Sees The iPad Magic. Flickr. Retrieved May 21, 2009, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/umpcportal/4581962986/

• Rivera, J., Lin, M., & Ikiz, B. (2011). Paper Prototyping. Team 4. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/tools-for-sketching-user-experiences/

• Robb, J. (2011). Tools for Sketching User Experiences. UX Booth. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/tools-for-sketching-user-experiences/

• Seto, K. (2011). Sneak peak at our awesome iMockups template for subscribers. Endloop Blog. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://blog.endloop.ca/blog

• Sharps, L. (2011). Using OmniGraffle for iPad as a wireframing tool. The Omni Mouth. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/entry/using_omnigraffle_for_ipad_as_a_wireframing_tool_new_video_posted/

• Villamor, C. (2011). How to Create iPad Prototypes Using Keynote for iPad. Cvil.ly. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://cvil.ly/2010/05/16/creating-ipad-prototypes-on-the-ipad/