INF385G: Topic Discussion Huang, S. C. Paper Prototyping INF385G: Topic Discussion Huang, S. C.

Contents Introduction Methods, Tips, Things to know My experience In-class Exercise Conclusion

What is Paper Prototyping? Paper: materials of paper-and-pencil alike. Prototyping: The design and evaluation of the concept. “Paper prototyping is a variation of usability testing where representative users perform real tasks by interacting with a paper version of the interface.

Examples:

Why Use Paper Prototyping? Jakob Nielsen’s recommendation Simple and Immense Save Money A method lives longer than you think

Words from Professionals User Interface Engineering: Still the “Simplest” A Team-Building Tool A Design and Testing Tool A Communication Tool Facilitates Regular Testing (valuable long-term benefit!)

Words from the Book Author: Carolyn Snyder: Fast mockup – no coding required Finds problems, including serious ones Refines design base on user feedback before implementation (Risk Management!) Team and communication tool Encourages creativity!

Benefits Summary Quick to build/refine, thus enabling rapid design interactions. Requires minimal resources and materials. Detects usability problems at a very early stage before implementation. Promotes communication between stakeholders.

How and What to do Signs of using paper prototyping Stages of planning Run the test Executive Overview

“Six Signs” Sign 1: There are many different ideas about the design. Sign 2: You find yourself depending a particular design. Sign 3: There are parts of the design you’re unsure about.

“Six Signs” Part II Sign 4: You’re changing the way that the users perform a task. Sign 5: The concepts or terminology are new to the users. Sign 6: You’re feeling uncreative.

“Four Stages” Stage 1: Concept Design – to explore different metaphors and design strategies. Stage 2: Interaction Design – to organize the structure of screen or pages.

“Four Stages” Part II Stage 3: Screen Design – for initial design of each individual screen. Stage 4: Screen Testing – to refine the screen layout.

How to Test a Paper Prototype Standard Usability Evaluation Procedure. People you need: real users, the “computer”, the facilitator, the observer, and usability consultants. Laboratory settings.

Executive Overview Kickoff meeting User recruitment Task design Prototype creation and walkthroughs Usability testing and iterative refinement Prioritizing issues and action plan Communication of results

My Experience Paper Prototyping of Menu Design Theories on a Small Screen Device Mockup design was fast and flexible. Data of path-finding behavior was visible. Excluded variables we didn’t want. It’s fun!

In-class Exercise Objectives: prototype a layout design of a cell phone’s home menu. Menu items to be included: indicators of signal, ringing style, and battery life; date and time; up to 9 options that users perform frequently. The menu design should be functional with your panel layout.

In-class Exercise Part II Describe a user task to be perform on this paper version of your design. Test it with the person next to you. *Ideas and comments are welcome.*

Conclusion Findings that make paper prototyping valuable: Usability issues Missing (or mis-specified) functional requirements Preference for one design alternatives Priorities Issues outside the user interfaces

Again, Benefits Summary Quick to build/refine, thus enabling rapid design interactions. Requires minimal resources and materials. Detects usability problems at a very early stage before implementation. Promotes communication between stakeholders.

Questions? Thank you.

References Five Paper Prototyping Tips Matthew Klee, 03/01/2000 http://www.uie.com/articles/prototyping_tips/ Paper Prototypes: Still Our Favorite Tara Scanlon, 05/01/1998 http://www.uie.com/articles/paper_prototyping/ Paper Prototyping: Getting User Data Before You Code Jakob Nielsen, April 14, 2003: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030414.html Paper prototyping Usability Net http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/prototyping.htm Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User Interfaces Carolyn Snyder http://www.paperprototyping.com/ Six Signs That You Should Use Paper Prototyping Carolyn Snyder 12/23/2003 http://today.java.net/pub/a/today/2003/12/23/sixSigns.html Using Paper Prototypes to Manage Risk http://www.uie.com/articles/prototyping_risk/