Prototyping

Question 1

What is a storyboard? What is a prototype? Explain the differences between a storyboard and a prototype.

Answer 1

A storyboard is sequence of diagrams or drawings to convey task flow or use case of how a product can be used.

Prototype is rapid approximation of a design idea and a limited representation of product design.

A prototype is mainly to encourage interactive exploration of the designed product, inspire innovation and test feasibility/compatibility, illustrate the actual design idea, look & feel whereas the storyboard is mainly to allow stakeholders to get a clear view of the goal, gather early feedback and understand the flow and how or why the product should be used (such as the scenarios).

Question 2

Explain the differences between a low-fidelity and hi-fidelity prototype. Why is the appropriate choice of fidelity important?

Answer 2

A low-fidelity prototype is mainly used to get a grasp of the conceptual design (e.g; how things should flow etc..) whereas a high fidelity one would be used to get a grasp of the physical design (how it feels in the hands and any feasibility issues).

It is important as lo-fi is meant to be cheap and iterative, whereas hi-fi may use similar materials as actual product, making it more expensive and also to avoid wasting time and allow rapid prototyping.

Question 3

Why should prototypes be tested on users? At which stage of the UCD process should each fidelity of prototype be used? Why?

Answer 3

Prototypes is used on users to gather early feedback which can be then used to further refine the prototype with rapid iteration.

Lo-fi (e.g. Paper): Design Stage
This is mostly used to gather heuristic feedback.

Hi-fi (e.g. Figma): Develop Stage
This is mostly used to get pre-product release heuristic feedback.

Question 4

What is a horizontal prototype? How is it different from a vertical prototype?

Answer 4

A horizontal prototype is one that has many features but not much details involved in each of those features. It is different from a vertical design in the sense that a vertical design would have more details but lesser features.

Question 5

What are the benefits and disadvantages of a video prototype?

Answer 5

Benefits:
1. Ties interface design to task
2. Cheap and fast

Disadvantages:
1. Limited flexibility
2. Lack of interactivity

Question 6

What are the pros and cons of using a Wizard of Oz prototype?

Answer 6

A Wizard of Oz prototype simulates machine behaviour with human operators. The user thinks they are interacting with a computer, but a human is responding to the input. Usually consists of front end only. It is done early in the design to understand user requirements.

Pros:
1. More “realistic” than paper prototype
2. Place user in the centre of development
3. Faster, cheaper, more iterative prototypes

Cons:
1. May misrepresent otherwise imperfect technology
2. Need effort in training wizard