We are Using the Templates Incorrectly
Here's How to Get the Most From Them
We have templates for everything, and we misuse them all the time.
In the tech industry, we have a lot of templates. Templates for tech-specs, product specs, one-pagers, design spec, planning, raising funding, pitching deck, etc. The same is true for every other industry.
While templates ensure that critical things are not left out and all assets created using the template are complete, they fail most of the time if misused.
If the information delivered is inaccurate or fails to communicate the problem clearly, the template is blamed. But it's not the template's fault.
People misuse templates because they are often confused about what the templates are supposed to do. Here is the best way to think about the template
Templates are more of a scaffolding than a wireframe.
Scaffolding comes from the construction industry. It's a temporary structure used during a construction project that supports the workers, tools, and materials to aid construction.
On the other hand, wireframes are the minimal skeleton framework onto which things will be built.
Using templates as scaffolding can guarantee that the work will stand on itself and will be complete. While the template supported its construction, removing it does not affect the stability of the asset.
Using templates as wireframes can result in missing our critical information as it was not part of the wireframe. Wireframes are limiting in movability. Changing them requires moving things a lot, and removing the wireframes breaks the entire product.
So, next time you come face-to-face with a template, make sure to use it as scaffolding and not the wireframe. The asset produced with be complete, stable, and high quality. The only downside is that we won't be able to blame the template.
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