Axure RP makes the transition from wireframe to mockup seamless, and smooth. It is not functional, but can be used for early usability tests. This evolves from the discussions started by the wireframe, and it is showable to a larger group (usually needs little to no explanation). The middle element in the above picture is the mockup. On the other hand, if you don’t explain, you will test your wireframing skills, not the web application you are about to create. If you explain the wireframe to the test subjects, it will distort, and most likely invalidate the test results. I have found limited use for wireframes in user experience testing. The main reason we create wireframes is to present them to someone, and to start a discussion. I do believe that a wireframe is not cast into stone, and leaves place to discussion and reiterations. Do not leave anything to chance in an annotation there is a very big difference between should and shall. The aforementioned book, while a great read, and very useful resource to all UX designers, warns the wireframe creator, not to use the word “should”. If you have a keen eye, and you agree with authors Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler (A Project Guide to UX Design) you will see a “wireframe error”. A wireframe should not contain any visual styling, but they should contain annotations (explanations or notes about an element or an interaction).
You basically start with an idea (that can originate from a brainstorming), the first, low-fidelity rendering is the wireframe. Obviously any of them can be omitted, and even if all three stages are present, the boundaries between them can be quite blurry. Pre-production user experience testing has three stages: wireframe, mockup and prototype. Axure RP is the most advanced wireframe, mockup and rapid prototype creation tool with built in collaboration features. This blog post does not start with a quick win, because using the tool I will present is a quick win, by itself. From wireframe to prototype with Axure RP