Smaply

“Fantastic platform”

Pros

Setting up custom swimlanes was really easy and made it simple to customize things the way I wanted.

Cons

Only thing I'd still like to see is a few more sharing options.

“great mapping visuals”

Pros

Creating journey maps with it has been a really positive experience. The templates are genuinely useful and I can edit and customize my projects the way I need. The storyboard feature is especially helpful since it lets me import images directly into the journey map. When I export the maps they look visually appealing and are very easy to understand.

Cons

There are still a few small details that could be improved. In some fields, you have to click then edit and only after that start typing. It would be much faster if you could simply click and begin editing right away.

“Promising user-centered design”

Pros

Having one place that brings together the full user-centred design process is a really appealing idea. The connection between personas and stakeholder maps is helpful and with a few more iterations, this could turn into a very powerful tool.

Cons

Biggest downside is the UX/UI. It feels like all the energy has been stripped out of the methods the platform is supposed to support. During our test, we couldn't really get students engaged because the interface came across like filling in dull, grey, isolated forms. The design feels too restrictive and not at all playful, open or inspiring. That's something that really needs attention because the methods being promoted rely much more on storytelling than on bureaucracy.