Comics and Keynote: Testing UI Flow in Wireframes
A couple years ago I learned from Paul Hibbitts a way of using slideshow applications for testing the flow and completeness of a design. Typically, I use Apple’s Keynote for this, though PowerPoint or Impress can work as well.
The essence of the method is to put all screens and all their states into sequences that follow a task or scenario. Paging through that sequence, imagining or even pointing to screen elements as you go, brings missing pieces and potentially confusing points into focus, often with shocking speed.
I’ve used the technique in a number of projects since then, always with good results. But in describing it with others I could rarely put my finger on why it worked so well for spotting what was otherwise missed when just looking at the wireframes on their canvas.
Yesterday at lunch I was talking up this method once again, but this time I hit on what I think explains its effectiveness by drawing from Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics.
