You love Axure RP and you know it’s the ideal tool for this new project, but how do you introduce it to a client who would rather use software they are familiar with?

There are many tools you can use for building wireframes and interactive prototypes; which one you choose for a particular project is usually a mix of personal preference, client requirements and the level of detail you need for your deliverables.

One of the advantages of using Axure RP –especially after the release of version 6, with its sketch effects – is that you can develop a single prototype which evolves in an organic way, from sketchy drawings early in the discovery phase, through to a fully designed prototype ready for user-testing and build. An Axure RP prototype can serve as a single point of reference for the whole team, while its interactivity offers stakeholders a great opportunity to see your ideas in action and give feedback as early as possible. But sometimes, for one reason or another, it’s important to a client that you use a tool they are familiar with – so how can you introduce them to Axure RP?

by guest author Anthony Ioannidis

Well, you can insist that everyone downloads and learns Axure over the weekend or just give up and use PowerPoint but, to be honest, neither of these approaches is likely to make you popular. Most clients will either have a clear preference for the tool they want to use or they’ll be open to using any tool they know or have heard of; even if they can’t update the files themselves, someone in their team should be able to.

Sometimes, especially if your client is an agency and they have their own client to convince, you might find yourself in a somewhat less straightforward situation: maybe a contractual agreement to use a particular tool; or maybe even the mention during the sales pitch of a tool that can do wonders – only it’s not Axure and you’ve never used it before.

I’ve experienced both cases; and every single time, Axure came first. It’s not always easy and it takes some extra work and negotiation but, in most cases, it will eventually save you time and raise your profile as someone who knows what they’re doing. 

When clients have been reluctant to switch to Axure, I’ve always offered them a ‘deal’: I’ll do the work using their preferred tool, but they’ll let me invest an hour or so on developing some ideas using Axure. In the context of a big project this is not hard to justify; if it’s a smaller project I’ll happily do it in my own free time. It’s not altruistic really, it eventually makes life easier.

Here’s an example of how this works in practice:

My client: a big consultancy firm; Their client: a Rail Transport group; The project: Design the new interface for a complex back-office system.

A few wireframes had already been designed using a combination of Visio and, well, MS Paint. We had to rework two of the most complicated screens and create the rest of the new wireframes. The first stakeholder review workshop was in 5 days and this was enough time to redesign those two wireframes and create an interactive version in Axure. The Axure version was true to the Visio wireframes, with only one difference: it was interactive – one could actually go through several steps on a single page, using complex AJAX interactions that Visio wireframes could never bring to life.

It was working through this prototype that revealed a design flaw, which would have otherwise gone unnoticed until much later in the process. During the review workshop, we went through the Visio wireframes with the client and the discussion, as was expected, moved towards the design issues. Seeing that explaining the complexity of the issue by merely pointing at static Visio wireframes was getting rather tricky for everyone, I fired up the Axure prototype and ran a two-minute demo. It only took two minutes and everyone was engaged again: Ideas started flying back and forth, sketches, questions, answers... the debate was live and hot!

To cut a long story short, everyone loved that simple Axure prototype and we naturally continued building on it. The Visio wireframes were retained for reference and the rest of the interface was designed in Axure. The prototype was shared online and comments were collated before every workshop, making discussions more focussed and solution oriented. The attractiveness of an interactive prototype and the practical advantages it offered in an agile project environment completely outweighed the extra work required for the transition.

It doesn’t always have to be something big and important for this to work. Use your prototype to demonstrate a challenging bit of the interaction, share it everyone via e-mail before meetings, invite feedback and make it the centerpiece of your work for a while. If it’s right, stakeholders will appreciate it and will expect you to develop it further.

Seize the opportunity and make sure everyone is on board. Here are a few more tips to make it easier:

Anthony Ioannidis is a hands-on expert in rapid interactive prototyping and all things usability. With an MSc in Human Computer Interaction with Ergonomics from UCL and over 8 years of experience in corporate training and UX, he has a passion for delivering beautiful solutions that work for everyone. Anthony has helped many clients across different sectors, from banking and insurance to telecommunications, transport and charity, discover the advantages of an agile, user-centered design process. He is still a friendly guy, who loves advocating usability and Axure RP.

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- Know your allies: If you are part of a team, find out about everyone’s familiarity with Axure and talk to those who have little or no experience using it

- Talk about Axure’s free one-month trial; even better, download Axure on your client’s machine and take them through the basics – it only takes a few

  minutes and can do wonders.

- If you decide to use Axure in parallel with another tool, wait until the right moment to share your work with stakeholders

- Be diplomatic; don’t assume everyone will immediately like the fact you went away and did your own thing just because it looks cool

- Be prepared to answer a few awkward questions, especially if using Axure means previous discussions were ignored or that not everyone was

  consulted. Keep in mind, though, that it might not be your position to answer those questions anyway

- Accept the fact that the final decision might not rest with you or any of those you can influence directly. If this is the case, be prepared to let go and

  carry on with business as usual.

PowerPoint wireframe

Axure RP prototype

www.iasquare.com

uk.linkedin.com/in/anthonyioannidis

@iasquare

How to

Introduce Axure RP to Clients

The New Kid in Town

Breaking the Ice

Practice What You Preach

A Few Tips

About the Author