iRise was a wireframe and prototyping tool with requirements management capabilities and ALM tool integrations. The product was discontinued in 2024, and is no longer available.
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Sketch
Score 4.6 out of 10
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Sketch is a visual design tool of use for application prototyping, coming with a wide variety of extensions, plugins, and an active user community.
I would say it is less appropriate in situations where the ask is relatively simple and easy to deploy. In that case, I would not waste any time mocking it up in iRise and instead I would have the developers start right away. In projects where there is less complexity I find less of a need for iRise.
Sketch may still be a solid tool, especially for Mac-based designers focused on high-precision design and creating static design systems. However, Figma excels in real-time collaboration, cross-platform support, and interactive prototyping. If you need features beyond simple vector design—like collaborative prototyping or working across different operating systems—Figma is a more comprehensive solution.
Drag and drop tool for designing simple to complex screen prototypes. Makes it easier to document requirements.
With interactive visual, it is easier to analyze different use cases and validate the usability of the screen designed.
For business analysts, it is a really helpful tool to document screen related requirements. The requirements package is much more effective when the iRise document is included on it. The iRise document can use used by both business and IT stakeholders. With a business team, it makes it easier to finalize the requirements. For the IT or development team, it makes it easier to understand the screen requirements for development.
The Sketch interface can feel a bit clumsy when you're working with a document that has many pages. As an example, I regularly work in a document that captures 10 different aspects of a product. Sketch doesn't allow me to organize all those pages into any type of folder hierarchy. I have to scroll through the complete list of pages to try and find the page I want. You can drag pages into a different order in Sketch, but that doesn't remove the lengthy list or provide visual demarcation between groups of related pages.
Nested symbols are extremely useful, but the interface available on the right panel of the screen to manipulate a nested symbol in a canvas is not clearly organized to find what you're looking for quickly. It displays as a list of items in your nested symbol with no visual delineation between objects, so it can be a bit of guesswork to make sure you're making changes to the correct element.
It would be nice if Sketch offered the ability to create a workflow with automatic connection of objects via lines and arrows, like a sitemap or process flow. I use Sketch to create all my screens, but still need to leave the app to create my visual diagrams in a separate app.
A fresh take on the UI to better delineate things visually would be a great help. As mentioned, pages can't be organized, nested symbols are cumbersome to read through, etc. Separating the main central area of the app where canvases are displayed visually from the tools on the left and right would make for a cleaner work environment.
This platform solves the problem that enterprise software sales teams encounter, and iRise cuts to the chase. Sales people often say "do your magic thing with the prototype" and the customer gives immediate feedback, we change it on the fly
Sketch is a core tool for us and the cost to keep it going with our teams is low. It provides a good alternative to other screen design tools for our team members who prefer to use it.
At the end of the day, it's just simple. This goes a long way in design and goes even further when your talking productivity, intuitive design and turnover rate. It's not difficult to figure something out even if it's not something your directly familiar with, i.e. if you want to export in certain file formats or change the size of the canvas, you don't have to delay your end product trying to figure it out. Similar situations took me less than 30 seconds to solve without a Google search. That's Usability.
The support is relatively decent, and they are quick to respond. However, their releases are not great. Sketch could use more robust testing of their software before releases. Over the last four years, I have had many days lost while waiting for Sketch to patch issues with their releases. It's actually a running joke in our office. So, support, good. Releases in the first place? Not great.
I constantly use various tools, selecting the right one for each task based on my experience and understanding of their strengths. This allows me to combine the advantages of each tool to complete tasks more efficiently and achieve better results. For example, I primarily use Figma at work, but if I need to draw an icon quickly, I prefer Sketch and then export it to Figma.
Saved time -- Intuitive interface saves us lots of time/money because it is reliable and easy to use. Other programs have caused serious confusion, leading to project delays.
More captivating wireframes -- Stakeholders have been finding it easier to visualize potential “final products” with vector-based Sketch designs. Because of this, we’ve been able to have more targeted, focused discussions that lead to improved final products (with fewer immediate post-launch revisions!).
Increased productivity -- Because Sketch is so easy to use, our designers have had more time to do more work. Rather than finagling difficult tools in previously used products, our designers feel no hesitation with Sketch, and are producing more often and more creatively.
