UX myth #5: Dummy data is enough for wireframes

Although we as designers can always use those dummy data via some data generator for the wireframes and mockups, having accurate test data for better contextual awareness could immensely speed the process.

Gavin Chiemsombat
Bootcamp
Published in
3 min readJul 15, 2021

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Welcome to the UX Myth blog series, where I debunk common design misunderstandings you keep hearing about in product meetings (and attempting to fix them).

Dummy vs Test data

When people say dummy data, they often refer to a set of gibberish words that do not contain any valuable data but serve as a placeholder.

Designers usually resort to dummy data — those Lorem Ipsum you see on websites and design templates — whenever they’re unsure about information presented in the requirement (or lack thereof). Hoping that the actual content may (or may not) come later on in the process.

Dashboard by Ankit — https://dribbble.com/ankitkumawat007

On the other hand, test data are fake information that creates context with where they’re put into, resulting in a more real-world production environment.

Finance Dashboard by Desemy Kristanto — https://dribbble.com/kdesemy

How Using Dummy Data Slows Down The Project?

To paraphrase Luke Wroblewski, “Product with unrealistic assumptions result in serious design flaws”. Design decisions should be driven by the content it represents; the layout is then created to support that content’s presentation.

The main problem is the friction between the designer’s mind and what the stakeholder would have been visualising in their head. Sure, you could mitigate that by having both parties compare a comprehensive set of requirements; However, those requirements are hard to come by and rarely enough for everyone to have the same image in mind mutually. Often the wireframing stage using dummy data would result in a never-ending back-and-forth between stakeholders — respectively wasted even more time and budget.

Looking forward to this every week? Me neither. image credit — http://comparefibre.co.uk/

In preparations of these data, one would need only insights provided from stakeholders. E.g. What will these areas contain? What are the data received from our API? Are we considering the possibility of both happy and edge cases in these user journeys?

Bouncing discussions around the room for one quick workshop session could save everyone the ensued headache from preemptive miscommunication.

Workarounds

If all else fails, you have no choice but to use fake, dummy text. Try diving into your prior UX research or design reference — develop any design decisions that could get you (and your stakeholders) started. Designers would generally have a basic idea for mockup contents based on their previous experience or their exposure to other similar apps already.

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Bootcamp
Bootcamp

Published in Bootcamp

From idea to product, one lesson at a time. Bootcamp is a collection of resources and opinion pieces about UX, UI, and Product. To submit your story: https://tinyurl.com/bootspub1

Gavin Chiemsombat
Gavin Chiemsombat

Written by Gavin Chiemsombat

Product Designer based in Thailand. Occasionally shows up just to geek about Figma. Contact me — gggggggg@duck.com

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