Getting feedback fast and early…
Prototyping an application is an essential part of validating the user experience to ensure that it meets the user’s expectations has zero usability defects. There are numerous methods to create prototypes. Ideally, they are developed early in the product development lifecycle where major issues can be discovered before designs go into development production. Identifying design flaws early can save the product team significant time and money.
The development of prototypes should be performed in a sequential process starting with “fast” low fidelity prototyping that is easy to build and then moving to more high-fidelity, “real to life” prototypes used to perform the final product validation.
Lastly, it is important to remember that prototypes are not just for testing users. They are for the entire product team because prototyping helps the product team debate design variations, required features, usability priorities, and the design of help documents and customer support protocols.
Methods
Paper Prototypes
Paper prototyping can done fast and easy by an experienced user experience designer using simple tools such as white board and paper sketches and wireframes, illustrating the sequence of screens needed to complete user and business goals.
Clickable Mockups
Once the preliminary concepts of the product are a agreed upon via stakeholder meetings and user feedback sessions the paper protypes can be transitioned to high fidelity wireframes and visual design mockups.
Developed Code
Finally, after feedback has been processed from the previous prototyping interactions the design(s) can be coded into a full fledged working prototype for users and stakeholders to interact with click-by-click.
“Prototyping takes ideas and turns them into tangible, quantifiable, and actionable assets”
Tools that we use:
Axure, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision
Outcomes:
- Obtaining quantitative and qualitative feedback
- Usability report
- Design solutions for correcting issues
- Team coordination