Sketchboard

A shared whiteboard with more structure than a blank page

Sketchboard is a web-based whiteboard for teams that want to plan, diagram and discuss ideas together without being in the same room. The company describes it as a collaborative whiteboard for planning, diagramming and remote teamwork, and says that more than a million people have used it. Product teams, consultants and larger organizations are the groups it names most often.

Working together on an infinite canvas

Several people can draw on the same board at once, and everything one person does is visible to the others in real time. Teammates can follow each other's movements across the board, and a comment box doubles as a small chat for agreeing on points. The company argues that this removes much of the back and forth by email and many of the long meetings that distributed teams otherwise rely on. Boards are also reusable: sketches and diagrams can be rearranged for presentations, and teammates receive updates automatically when something is shared, so nobody needs to rebuild slides from scratch.

Shapes, connections and a deliberately hand-drawn look

Sketchboard offers more than 400 sketch shapes with automated connections, so lines stay attached when objects are moved and are recalculated on the board. The company says it chose an organic, sketched appearance on purpose, because it believes a rough look encourages feedback and keeps attention on the idea instead of the polish.

Typical uses

Software teams use the diagramming tools to draw UML diagrams, design patterns and flowcharts, and to turn mind maps into software designs so that everyone works from the same map. Scrum teams write retrospectives on digital notes and give each group its own area of the board. Designers can take a screenshot of an existing interface and mark up changes with freehand drawing, or combine freehand marks with UX shapes to plan flows from scratch. Testers can screenshot problem areas and annotate them. The same tools are used for workflows, customer journeys and other design processes.

Integrations and plans

Sketchboard connects with Microsoft Teams, Slack, GitHub, Webex and Google Drive, so the board can sit inside the tools a team already uses. A free sign-up is offered, and separate plans exist for teams, businesses and private collaboration.