Generally speaking, the work we do is best served by fairly low-fidelity prototypes. We draw things out by hand or in Balsamiq. My team and I then work through these pictures with clients to figure out how a tool should look and work.
Every so often, though, I come across something that’s hard to represent in a flat, static picture. Then I go roaming around the web finding fancy clickable-prototype builder tools and start thinking we should add them to our toolbox.
Mostly, I’ve found they are expensive and time-consuming. And honestly, Balsamiq keeps adding neato features that help make my low-fi mockups better at representing interactivity. Nevertheless, one should never stop seeking a better prototype tool.
I like this article from Garret Dworman about how to figure out when to use a higher-fidelity prototype:
When to Prototype, When to Wireframe — How Much Fidelity Can You Afford?
From my experience I have come to the realization that interactive prototyping is not always the correct deliverable for a design project.
