when prototypes don't fly: overcoming organizational resistance to prototyping

WHEN PROTOTYPES DON’T FLY

Chuck Johnston@ChuckJohnstone

cjohnston@sitecrafting.com

HOW TO CRASH AND BURN WITH NEW IDEAS (and how to

not do that so much too)

WHAT WE’LL COVER

• How people actually react to UX speak

• How to fail at introducing prototyping into an organization

• How to fail less at introducing prototyping into an organization

• Where we are now

WHEN I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT PROTOTYPING I THOUGHT I WAS

ALL LIKE…

I COME FROM DESIGN MOUNTAIN BEARING UX

WISDOM!

BUT, I WAS REALLY LIKE…

ERMAHGERD

PROTERTERPING

WHY WAS I SO EXCITED ABOUT PROTOTYPING?

A VEHICLE OF CHANGE

"1910Ford-T" by Harry Shipler

FIND OUT WHAT DOESN’T WORK

VALIDATE IDEAS AND INTERACTIONS

INCREASE UNDERSTANDING

IMPROVE COMMUNICATION

IMPROVE REQUIREMENTS

INCREASE CLIENT ENGAGEMENT

REDUCE USABILITY ISSUES

HEY THERE, I’M THAT VEHICLE OF CHANGE FROM

A FEW SLIDES BACK

"1910Ford-T" by Harry Shipler

WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE LETTERS?

"Ford N" by Harz4"1903-ford-rc" by DougW

Ford A Ford N

1905 Ford Model B by Michael Barera

Ford B

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT DOESN’T WORK

or why we can’t have nice things

EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT

Bandwagon

I HEARD THAT PROTOTYPING

WORKED GREAT ON THIS OTHER PROJECT

Anecdotal Evidence

WE EITHER PROTOTYPE OR DON’T DO IT AT ALL

Black-or-white

PROTOTYPING TOO MUCH

Burns time and money

BUT MY BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS…

I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PUT THIS

BUT PROTOTYPING IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL

THE EUREKA MOMENT

THIS IS WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKED LIKE

WHY DID I FAIL?

• I was selling intangibles

• I didn’t show value

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WORKS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

Isolate the specific user scenarios that require a prototype.

STARTING SMALL

Make sure your chosen scenario isn’t the entire project.

KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE

Who are you trying to communicate with?

USING THE RIGHT MEDIUM

What fidelity do you need to communicate your message?

TESTING THE PROTOTYPE

Totally obvi, right?

WHERE ARE WE TODAY?

• Prototyping is becoming part of our vernacular

• We’re using more prototyping methods

• Our process is evolving to better incorporate prototypes

The tools we’re using:

PAPER PROTOTYPES

Cheap and effective

JUST LIKE THE REAL THING!

Problems conveying animation?

AXURE

Makes reviews of deliverables more interactive

HTML “WIREFRAMES”

Puts us in the actual medium

THANK YOU!

@ChuckJohnstone

cjohnston@sitecrafting.com

By Pierre.pu