Ch 10 Prototyping page 1 CS 368 Prototyping an initial version of a software system used to demonstrate concepts, compare design alternatives and to explore the problem and possible solutions. it should be suitable for representative users to interact with in order to observe their behavior and identify potential usability problems. heavily used in industry: automotive, consumer electronics
Ch 10 Prototyping page 2 CS 368 Looking for Innovation strive for multiple designs early to discover the best solution product designers are trained to consider alternatives, software developers generally are not most ideas are evolutionary rather than revolutionary humans tend to build upon what they already know rather than truly think out of the box Examples of true innovation Doc Brown invented the flux capacitor which is the basis for time travel velcro amazon.cm “one click” post-it notes
Ch 10 Prototyping page 3 CS 368 Advantages relatively cheap and quick to create a lot of bang for the buck the user can better clarify her needs by seeing the features in action actually shortens development time by identifying problems early when it is easier to make changes enhances communication with the user supports an iterative design process
Ch 10 Prototyping page 4 CS 368 Types of Prototypes Low Fidelity quick and cheap to create might not look realistic limited functionality used early in the specification or design phase Demonstration targeted functional for specific concepts user can respond to the demonstration High Fidelity more realistic slower to develop and more expensive nearly complete functionality more effective towards the end of the design phase
Ch 10 Prototyping page 5 CS 368 Additional Strategies Evolutionary make incremental changes to the ‘final’ product designers may feel overly committed and limit their choices Throw Away forced to start from scratch Local vs Global Features depth vs breadth perhaps implement one menu instead of all of them Wizard of Oz create the illusion of a functional application under the control of someone in the background could be done for a voice application
Ch 10 Prototyping page 6 CS 368 Prototyping Tools Visual Basic for relatively quick event-driven prototypes Scripting languages such as Python allow for rapid development Tkl / tk HTML authoring tools Paper google “paper prototyping” for resources
Ch 10 Prototyping page 7 CS 368 Group Activity Day 1 introduce the problem explain the prototyping materials Day 2 iterative design and refine the prototype Day 3 send envoys out to the other groups each group has a puppeteer and scribe note usability problems Possible projects Restrict interaction style to Menus for Linux commands Phone message system for a receptionist to take messages