Prototyping

Introduction

• Low-fidelity prototyping• High-fidelity prototyping• Compromises in prototyping• From design to implementation

What is Low-fidelity prototyping ?

• “A low-fidelity prototype is one that does not look very much like the final product”

• “Low-fidelity prototyping is a cheap way of providing prototypes to use in tests and participatory design sessions.”

Why Use Low-fidelity

prototyping ?• Useful to produce and modify• Cheap to produce and modify• Quick to produce and modify

Implementing Low-fidelity prototyping

• Storyboarding a series of sketches that show how a user might progress through a task using the product under development.

• Wizard of Oz a method of testing a system that does not exist. It allows designers to test ideas without implementation of a system.

• Sketches a visual brainstorm that helps you explore all kinds of design ideas.

What is High-fidelity

prototyping ?• “High-fidelity prototyping uses materials that you would expect in the final product and produces a prototype much more like the final thing.”

• “High-fidelity prototypes are intended to look and feel much like the final product.”

Why Use High-fidelity

prototyping ?• Selling ideas• For testing out technical issues

Implementing High-fidelity prototyping

• Common Prototyping tools Flash, Visual Basic and SmallTalk.

Compromising in Prototyping

• Prototyping naturally involves compromise

• Trying to create a representation of final product but in a short time.

• In low-fidelity the product does not function.

• In high-fidelity problems and errors can be hidden for evaluators “quick and dirty” code.

From Design to Implementation

• Evolutionary Prototyping– Evolving a prototype into the final product– Requires rigorous testing

• Throwaway Prototyping– Uses prototype as stepping stones to final

design– Thrown away and final product started from

scratch