Creating wireframes is an effective way to kick off a development project and get a quick outline of its intended layout and functionality. Many developers know this by now, but exactly how many? In order to get an answer, we conducted a survey and asked 501 software developers the following question:
Have you ever heard of wireframes as a way to plan the layout of a user interface?
Out of 501 respondents, 61.3% said they had never heard of wireframes.
Interesting to note is that more men than women responded that they were familiar with wireframes.
When the survey results are broken down by age, it becomes apparent that developers between the ages of 25 and 44 are more likely to know what wireframes are than developers in other age groups.
We used Google Consumer Surveys to conduct the wireframe survey. The following screening question made sure that only participants with experience in software development were considered:
Do you have experience in software development?
According to Google, the survey results were obtained for a representative sample of the U.S. population. Those interested in the raw data can download the results in Excel CSV format here.
The survey revealed that the majority of developers is unaware of wireframing as part of the software and web development process. This will probably change in the next few years as wireframes increasingly find their way into university courses and gain acceptance in the developer community.
If you are new to wireframes and need a software tool to get started, take a look at PowerMockup, a wireframing add-on for Microsoft PowerPoint.