The document discusses paper prototyping techniques for product development. Paper prototyping allows developers to create working models of systems using simple materials like paper, pens and scissors to get early feedback before development. It is fast, inexpensive and lets users interact with and test prototypes to provide feedback to refine a design through multiple iterations before production. The document provides examples of paper prototyping a personal profile and photo gallery app to demonstrate how to create interactive prototypes, test them with users and refine the design based on test results.
3. What prototype is?
Prototype is a working model of
future system
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4. What prototypes are used for?
Know more about a product
Get feedback
Get information about possible problems during production
Get an ability to change something before production
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5. Prototype as documentation
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Far more compact than text
Does not take much time to
understand
Simplifies development
Reduces development time
11. Power of paper prototyping
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Fast & cheap
Right fidelity
No software/hardware
limitations
Collaborative
Can be done with clients
No special skills needed
12. Basic tools
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Paper
Pencils, pens, markers, sharpies
Stickers of different sizes
Scissors
Scotch tape
Transparent paper
13. Extra tools
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Special sets for different
interfaces (desktop, web,
mobile)
Rulers with interface elements
14. DIY tools
Printed and cutout interface
elements on magnet paper
Interface elements printed on
stickers
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27. Testing a prototype
How to prepare for testing
Decide what exactly you want to
test
Prepare scenarios
Think about interactions
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Keep in mind
Wrong people lead to wrong
results
Moderation should be moderate
28. Running a test
People needed
User
Moderator
Watcher
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Test phases
Set the stage
Test prototype
Get feedback
29. Analyzing test results
Task completion frequency
Task completion time
Errors and missteps
User comments
Watcher notes
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30. Refining your prototype
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Prototyping is an iterative
process
Build a prototype, test it on
users, refine prototype with new
knowledge
2-3 iterations are usually
enough
34. Further reading
• Prototyping by Todd Zaki Warfel
• Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine
User Interfaces by Carolyn Snyder
• Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the
Right Design by Bill Buxton
• The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the
Web and Beyond by Jesse James Garrett
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Model works good for whole projects and small features
It is essential to keep in mind that every following layers affects the range of product decisions that can be made
You should always check spreading influence of decisions that a being made on one level of product, especially on middle levels
During meetings it is essential to keep discussion only on one level of model
Different prototyping methods for different levels
Paper prototyping is not the best option for surface level – high fidelity needed to test design solutions
Prototyping can be also used to form a strategy level, Lean Startup approach is all about that, but it’s a topic for a dedicated webinar
Some decisions are very easy to made:
Standard things like registration forms
Legally regulated forms
Etc
But some decisions are not so clear:
Some users agree with one solution, some with completely another
Team members propose different solutions
We are not sure what solution will have best market fit
This method is called “Design thinking”
This method is also very good at finding the best solution, not polishing a satisfactory one
No we are ready to dive into paper prototyping world
Also power prototyping is versatile. You can prototype web interface as well as ATM terminal
There are weaknesses too, of course:
It’s difficult to hold paper prototyping sessions in distributed teams or to pass the result form Moscow to New York
Some imagination is essential
Design solutions cannot be tested
Hands and your imagination also
You can prepare tools by yourself:
There are tons of interface widgets sets over the web, you can download them and print on a magnet paper or stickers
Ok, we are ready to start prototyping! But what to start with?
Well, it may be easier to say, than do. Here is a simple technique for kicking-off:
Take a piece of paper enough for several sketches
Give yourself a small amount of time (10 minutes max)
Make as many sketches as you can
Choose the best one after the time is over
There are very many variants of testing a prototype
It’s very important how people feel themselves during testing
Through testing sessions we often had 2 questions:
Can I rename gallery on a gallery page?
What if I need to rotate an image?