prototyping: what? why? and how?
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Prototyping: What? Why? and How?. Emma J. Rose UW Technical Communication. Today we’ll talk about. What is a prototype Why and how prototypes are used How this applies to you Some examples …and, if time permits, we’ll build a prototype. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Prototyping: What? Why? and How?
Emma J. Rose UW Technical Communication
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Today we’ll talk about What is a prototype Why and how prototypes are used How this applies to you Some examples
…and, if time permits, we’ll build a prototype
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
What do you think when you hear the word “prototype”?
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
What is a prototype An original … what other forms will be
developed from A physical model A design of some part (or entire) system
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
What do prototypes look like? They are “mock ups” Rough drafts or sketched of a design Can be just a drawing or have extended
functionality A work in progress
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
We use prototypes all the time User-centered design (UCD)
Is a philosophy and an approach to creating products and processes
Puts the user in the center of the design decisions
Usability Is an essential part of UCD Helps evaluate a product to see if it’s working
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Why do we use prototypes? To get a sense of how a product will work Identify essential features or components Have something to evaluate early on And….
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Why else do we use prototypes? Helps you from going in the
wrong direction A cheap way to do it! Let’s you make changes
quickly, try something new without being tied down.
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
According to Jakob Nielsen Cheaper to change a product
early than later in the development process
Common estimate is that it's 100 times cheaper to make a change before any code has been written
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
How are prototypes used Throughout the design process Help design and evaluate a product along
the way Moves from simple to more complex: this is
called fidelity
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Fidelity How detailed a mock up is How close to being “done”
Low - Paper Medium - Visio, PowerPoint, Word High - Programming can include full functionality
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Prototypes
Evaluate
Design
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Lower cost Higher cost
Summary of findings
evaluate
Summary of findings
evaluate
Summary of findings
evaluate
Low fidelity High fidelity
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
What do prototypes look like?
Picture from Norman Nielsen Group (NNG.com)
Emma J. Rose - UWTCPicture from Norman Nielsen Group (NNG.com)
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Many products started on paper Can just use stickies Draw idea on a
napkin!
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Choosing diamonds on Amazon.comMock up Actual interface
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
How do we evaluate prototypes? Similarly to how we evaluate any product
An essential element to user-centered design…..
We do usability studies!
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Evaluating prototypes All you need is paper A person to play
“computer” Some imagination
Picture from Norman Nielsen Group (NNG.com)
Emma J. Rose - UWTCPicture from Norman Nielsen Group (NNG.com)
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Objections you may hear I can’t use a prototype, my product is too
complex! How will people know what the system is
doing? It needs to be coded so it’s interactive.
How can we evaluate a paper version? Users will think it’s silly.
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
How we respond No product is too complex! Think of it from
a user’s perspective. You can think just screen to screen.
An evaluation can be interactive, someone plays the computer and simulates interactivity
Users are willing to go along! They pretend it is real product.
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
How this applies to you The Make it Better assignment
When you suggest a redesign, it is helpful to provide visual elements
Consider creating a prototype You can evaluate it with real users You will have data about what works and what
doesn’t Gives you an aid to talk about what you changed and why
All design is iterative…this is why you can “Make it Better”
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In class activity How many people drive in Seattle? How about park?
What’s hard about parking? How about after you park?
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Progress? We went from
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Design scenario The city of Tacoma has hired you to create
new digital parking meters After doing some research, they like some
aspects of the Seattle digital meters: Solar powered Send data to a central location Let users pay with credit card
However…
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
They don’t like the design! Your task: Design an interface for a parking
meter It should:
Allow use of Credit cards, cash: bills and coins Be easy to use Not required lots of instructions on the design
itself
Use paper and pencil or pen
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Debrief What was easy or hard about the exercise?
What would you do next before pitching the design to the City of Tacoma?
What are some extra bonuses of doing a prototype?
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If you want to learn more About Paper Prototyping
Paper Prototyping by Carolyn Snyder
Jakob Nielsen’s article on Useit.com
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
If you want to learn more about User centered design and usability
Coordinated study: Offered Spring 2006 Meets evenings and weekends 3 linked courses:
Theory of Human Computer Interaction User Experience Design Usability Research Methods
You get to design a product and evaluate it.
Emma J. Rose - UWTC
Thanks for your time! Questions? Email
Me: [email protected] TC advisor: [email protected]
Pick up a brochure See the website
http://www.uwtc.washington.edu/programs/certs/coordstudy.php