User Interface Prototyping Techniques: Low Fidelity Prototyping

IFI7156 Interaction Design Methods

What is a prototype?

A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.

(Wikipedia, n.d.)

An Example: OLPC

(Design Continuum, 2006)

(Design Continuum, 2006)

(Fuse Project, 2006)

(Fuse Project, 2006)

(Michalski, 2007)

low-fi vs hi-fi prototyping

Low-fidelity prototyping

• Paper prototyping

• Wireframes

• Storyboards

High-fidelity prototyping

• Graphical UI prototypes

• HTML/CSS mockups

• Clickthrough prototypes

Paper prototyping

Snyder, C. (2003). Paper prototyping: The fast and easy way to design and refine user interfaces. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.

Benefits of paper prototyping

• Fast and inexpensive

• Identifies problems before they are coded

• Evokes more and better feedback from the users

• Helps developers think creatively

• Gets users and other stakeholders involved in the process

• Fosters team work and communication

(Snyder, 2003)

Paper prototyping materials

• Blank background paper (A3)

• Blank paper (A4)

• Drawing pens (0.4 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.8 mm, etc)

• Scissors

• Transparent pockets

Process

• Following the design patterns / interface guidelines

• Creating separate prototype(s) for each functionality (user story)

• Making changes in the user story, if needed

• Putting the pieces together

• Taking photos of the process (paper prototyping)

• Finding missing stories / prototypes

Design patterns, guidelines & grids

Yahoo Design Pattern Library

https://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/

iOS Human Interface Guidelines

https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/MobileHIG/

Android Design

http://developer.android.com/design/

960 Grid System

http://960.gs

Foundation

http://foundation.zurb.com

From user stories to paper prototypes

Initial user story

Improved user story

Redesigning existing interfaces

Clickthrough paper prototypes

POP

https://popapp.in

Testing paper prototypes

Preparation

• Creating tasks based on the scenarios

• Creating related interview questions

Good testing task

• Is based on a goal that matters for the chosen persona

• Covers questions important to the success of your product/business

• Has appropriate scope — not too broad, not too specific

• Has a finite and predictable set of possible solutions

• Has a clear end point that the user can recognize

• Evokes action, not just opinion

(Snyder, 2003)

Designing the right tasks

“Years ago, we helped with a study of Ikea.com, looking at how people found products on the site. When we got there, they'd already started the testing process and were using tasks like "Find a bookcase." Interestingly, every participant did exactly the same thing: they went to the search box and typed "bookcase".

Upon our suggestion, the team made a subtle change to the instructions they were giving their participants: "You have 200+ books in your fiction collection, currently in boxes strewn around your living room. Find a way to organize them."

We instantly saw a change in how the participants behaved with the design. Most clicked through the various categories, looking for some sort of storage solution. Few used Search, typing in phrases like "Shelves" and "Storage Systems". And, nobody searched on "bookcase".”

(Jared M. Spool)

(Spool, 2005)

What to focus on?

• Terminology. Do they understand the terms in the UI?

• Navigation. Does the flow match what users expect?

• Content. Does it provide the right level of information?

• Page layout. Is content organized as users expect?

• Functionality. What additional features are desired?

(Ginsburg, 2009)

Testing session

• Test person

• “Paper computer”

• Facilitator

Wireframes

Brown, D. M. (2011). Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

Balsamiq Mockups

OmniGraffle

(Stott, 2005)

(Richards, 2009)

Strengths of wireframes

• A fast and easy way to present concepts for interfaces

• Focus on underlying logic, behavior, and functionality

• Enable rapid iteration on early concepts

• Easier to make large changes compared with paper prototypes

(Brown, 2011)

References• Brown, D. M. (2011). Communicating Design: Developing Web Site

Documentation for Design and Planning. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

• Ginsburg, S. (2009). An agile approach to iPhone design: Paper prototyping + user testing. http://www.slideshare.net/ginsburgdesign/an-agile-approach-to-iphone-design-paper-prototyping-user-testing

• Snyder, C. (2003). Paper prototyping: The fast and easy way to design and refine user interfaces. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.

• Spool, J.M. (2005). Seven Common Usability Testing Mistakes. http://www.uie.com/articles/usability_testing_mistakes/

Photos• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laptop09052.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laptop09053.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laptop09055.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laptop0956.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laptop-crank.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laptop-ebook.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orange-rotate-small.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1st_working_machine.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LaptopOLPC_a.jpg

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LaptopOLPC_b.jpg

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/sociate/2128375500/

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowcrash/21099636

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/adriarichards/4102421296

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Interaction Design Methods http://ifi7156.wordpress.com

Tallinn University Institute of Informatics