Protoyping and
User Testing
from Preece, Rogers, Sharp, “Beyond Interaction Design”

What is a Prototype?
• a piece of wood (ie. Palm Pilot development)
• cardboard mock up
• video simulation
• paper-based outline
• hyper-linked screens shots

Why Prototype?
• useful aid when discussing idea with stakeholders
• communication device amongst designers
• support designers in choosing between alternatives
• user testing and evaluation

Why Prototype?
• Low Fidelity Prototype
• materials of low cost and fast assembly
• affords multiple concept testing in short time frame
• made to be explored, modified and rejected

Why Prototype?
• High Fidelity Prototype
• looks and acts more like the finished design
• interactive and functional
• useful for marketing ideas, testing technical issues
• more accurate materials but more expensive production
cost
• made to be improved upon, for more final testing
• includes interactive programs, simulators, prototypes

Evaluation Paradigms
1. “quick and dirty”
• more informal, at any stage of design cycle, fast input rather
than careful documentation, used for short turnarounds,
qualitative
2. usability testing
• user’s performance on prepared tasks, controlled by evaluators
3. field studies
• naturalistic observation, context of use (ie. workplace)
4. predictive evaluation
• expert evaluators, heuristic evaluation

DECIDE Framework
1. Determine overall goals of the evaluation
2. Explore the specific questions to be answered
3. Choose the evaluation paradigm and techniques to answer
questions
4. Identify the practical issues that must be addressed
5. Decide how to deal with the ethical issues
6. Evaluate, interpret and present the data