25 great free UX tools

There might be no such thing as a free lunch but thanks to the wonders of Open Source software, freeware and trial software there most certainly is such a thing as free software. In this article I list 25 great free UX tools, including tools to help with prototyping, annotating, screen grabbing, site mapping, usability testing, accessibility and analytics. Prototyping tools Pencil Pencil is a nice little Open Source tool for creating prototypes, UI mockups, and UX diagrams, such as user journeys. Pencil – A free prototyping and diagramming tool LucidChart LucidChart is an online tool for creating diagrams, UI mockups and prototypes. LucidChart – A prototyping and diagramming tool with a free trial version Balsamiq Balsamiq is another online UI prototyping tool and like LucidChart it’s not fee but does allow you to create simple single pages for free using the trial version (just click on the ‘take a tour’ link). Balsamiq – A prototyping tool with a free trial version Serena Prototype Composer

Don't Just Wireframe - Tell The Design Story The Basics of Great UX To the benefit of software and applications everywhere, UX has become an increasingly important step in the Software Development lifecycle. Even though UX is a slightly surreptitious layer of design, it's no less important. It, by the nature of its name, defines the experience of the users. UX is something anyone can do. If you learn nothing else about UX I ask you to remember these two things. Know thy user.You are not the user (in most cases). If you don't know your user base, their habits and tendencies, and why they do or do not perform certain actions, then you can't be expected to design a good experience for them. Let's look at all the possible steps a UXer might take in defining the UX of a product. Requirements Gathering is one of the first steps in designing the UX. Business Requirements: The goals and needs of other parts of your company or what's necessary to monetize the product. These requirements will be the foundation that will shape your design. Who is this for? Sketch.

The Information Architecture Institute