Paper Prototyping

Paper Prototyping

Prototyping

• Prototyping is an interaction design approach used by designers to acquire feedback from users about future designs– While simple, paper prototyping can provide a

great deal of useful feedback which will result in the design of better products

Explorative prototyping

• Explorative prototyping is used to explore system requirements in cooperation with users– I can be seen as a communication facilitator

designers, developers and users

Experimental prototyping

• Experimental prototyping aims to assess whether the planned system will be adequate and acceptable when finished– Experimental prototypes can be used as

requirements specification

Evolutionary prototyping

• And prototyping can also be evolutionary in nature– This is the case when a design evolves through

multiple generations succeeding each other– In this case, each prototype is an early version of a

product or service that is further worked upon until the prototype has evolved into a final solution

Prototypes

• Prototypes may be horizontal or vertical– Horizontal prototypes cover a very broad range of

the intended future features, but only very little of the actual functionality of the features is addressed

– Vertical prototypes address fewer features but, on the other hand, these are almost fully described.

Prototypes

• Prototypes serve several purposes…– They incite and facilitate experimentation as they

are inexpensive to alter• As they focus on content and functionality and turn

attention away from details of graphic design

Prototypes

• Prototypes serve several purposes…– They incite criticism from users because they are

perceived as being low-cost and low-fidelity• If a user is presented with an early version of a product

or service that has required substantial work, she or he is likely to be more reluctant (as well as able) to criticize it

Prototypes

• Prototypes serve several purposes…– They have the advantage of ‘grounding’ the

discussion during a stakeholder session, making the sure the session does not get too much off track

Prototypes

Prototypes

• The question now should be… – How do we go about it?

Prototyping process

• You…– Follow design patterns– Create a prototype for each (set of) user stories• Starting by sketching and structuring and eventually

ending with a paper mockup of the envisioned product or service frontend

– You iterate the prototype and the user stories• There is an interplay between both so its only

expectable that they will co-evolve

Design patterns

Design patterns

Design patterns

Prototyping user stories

• Well… you start with your user story and end up with something like this:

Prototyping user stories

• Early prototypes normally evolve through a sketching and structuring iterative process– Sketching is normally based on existing design

patterns, unless there is an unusual problem to be addressed or a novel solution with potential added value

– Structuring normally follows state transition diagrams principles, which allows clear validation of the underlying user stories

Prototyping user stories

• Early prototypes normally evolve through a sketching and structuring iterative process

Mature paper prototypes

• Mature paper prototypes usually let go of the state transition diagram and become fully actionable paper prototypes– Of course, in this case the processor is the person

animating the prootype

Mature paper prototypes

Mature paper prototypes

• For demonstration purposes, mature paper prototypes can also be animated using stop motion animation

However…

However…

• This only makes sense if you have progressed from your idea’s personas into scenarios and user stories– Most likely you have actually address all this in

previous activities but under different names or even implicitly• My recommendation is that you reframe what you have

under this heading to better start this interaction design process

However…

• This only makes sense if you have progressed from your idea’s personas into scenarios and user stories– If this is not so clear for you, please bear with me

for a little longer

Personas

• These are base on observation, interviews, research

• They can be primary, secondary, etc…• Personas support design decisions– But should not entirely replace real users

Personas

Scenarios

• Scenarios describe the context of the interaction between the personas and the envisioned product or service– These consist of goals, expectations, actions and

reactions– They aim to reflect the real context and usage

Scenarios

User stories

• User stories are written sequences of actions and events leading to an outcome– Good user stories are standalone, short and

testable– They bring users, designers and developers

together– Users stories are a powerful way to reflect upon

user needs

User stories

• Go more or less like this…– As a <ROLE>, I want to <DO SOMETHING> so that I

could <GET SOMETHING>• User stories:– Describe one specific need– Are not to detailed– Are testable

User stories

User stories

Now it’s up to you to make it happen

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