Should wireframes or functional requirements be created first?

UXFanatic

I'm really frustrated with the way the Business Analyst at our organization handles things. She waits for me to create the wireframes to be ready before working on the functional requirements. To me, this feels completely backwards.

Wireframes should be based on the functional requirements, not the other way around.

Am I wrong here? How do you all handle this in your projects?

redux

While I get where you're coming from, I think that functional requirements should come first. They provide the foundation for the wireframes. If we start with wireframes, we might miss important functionalities that haven't been documented yet.

uxvenom

I think it depends on the project. For some, starting with wireframes can help stakeholders visualize the end product and refine their requirements. But generally, having a clear set of functional requirements first makes the whole process smoother.

CreativeMind

In my experience, starting with wireframes can be beneficial. It helps to get early feedback and iterate quickly. Once we have a rough idea of the layout, we can better understand what functionalities are needed and document them accordingly.

But you're right, BAs sometimes act plain lazy and wait for the design team to come up with some wires before they simply "explain" the wires verbatim in their FSDs like "On clicking the button, a window slides in from the right.." Well, that's not exactly an FSD, you're basically just describing the wireframe. A true FSD wouldn't tell you where the window slides from or hell, even if its a window or not! But I guess that's demanding too much from these BAs.

UXFanatic

CreativeMind This! The BAs literally wait for wireframes to copy the whole damned thing in their functional requirements.

uxvenom

CreativeMind UXFanatic

I'd still bet that sometimes wireframes can uncover requirements that stakeholders didn't initially think about. Maybe a hybrid approach could work? Start with high-level requirements, create rough wireframes, and then refine both as you go along.

Techieprmhta

I've found that wireframes can serve as a discussion tool. They help stakeholders visualize and articulate their needs better. Sometimes, people don't know what they want until they see it.

Rajat

In Agile projects, we start with user stories, which are kind of like high-level requirements. Then we do wireframes and refine the functional requirements iteratively. This keeps the process flexible and adaptive.

UXFanatic

Rajat Maybe that's where I'm getting stuck. We're not strictly Agile, and our process is pretty rigid. But I see the value in being more iterative. Thanks for the insight, though.