Using Axure for Early Validation
RAPID PROTOTYPING TO ELICIT USER FEEDBACK
Prepared by:
Michael Hawley – VP Experience Design
Oct 20, 2009

Agenda
• Introduction
• About prototyping
• Prototyping tools
• Case Study and demo
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About Me
• MS in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University
• VP of Experience Design at Mad*Pow in Portsmouth, NH USA
(www.madpow.net)
• Member of SIG CHI, UPA, IxDA, active author on UXMatters, UX Magazine
• Current Chapter President of NH Chapter of Usability Professional’s
Association (UPA)
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About Mad*Pow
Experience Design Agency: Headquarters:
Cross-Channel Experience Strategy Portsmouth, NH USA
User & Market Research
Task Flow Analysis
Interaction Design
Staff:
Information Architecture
26 Employees
Visual Design
Prototyping & Usability Testing
Interactive Media
Social Media Strategy
Search Engine Optimization
Copywriting
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Our Clients
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Agenda
• Introduction
• About prototyping
• Prototyping tools
• Case Study and demo
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Prototypes: A Definition
Artifacts or experiences designed for exploring
alternatives and options of interactive systems.
Intended reduce the risk of committing time and
resources to full production without validation of
direction.
• Representative of the end product
• Conceptual design > Prototype > Product
• Models: Throwaway, Evolutionary, or
Incremental
• Built for: Stakeholders, Designers, Users
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Benefit 1: Stakeholders Envision Solution Early in Design Process
“In the last year, 70% of projects failed to meet
deadlines, & 50% of projects failed to meet the
needs of the business; 80% of the issues stem
from poor requirements.”
- Standish Group Chaos Report, 2007
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Benefit 1: Stakeholders Envision Solution Early in Design Process
1. Stakeholders don’t know what they want
until they see something and interact with it
2. Experience is difficult to envision by looking
at specification documents and use cases
Leads to:
• Re-work and changes
• Project delays
• Compromises and time pressures
• Poor relationships
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Benefit 2: User Feedback Early in the Design Process
Internally-
Internally-Centered Process:
Requirements
Request Create Review Updates Launch
Document
User-Centered Process:
User-
Gather Low-
Low-fidelity Usability Create Usability
Review
Request user needs prototype Test Test
User Input User Input User Input
Reviews Updates Launch
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Benefit 2: User Feedback Early in the Design Process
“When presented with a single design,
users give significantly higher ratings and
were more reluctant to criticize than when
presented with the same design in a
group of three.“
“…results imply that by presenting users
with alternative design solutions,
subjective ratings are less prone to
inflation and give rise to more and
stronger criticisms when appropriate.”
Tohidi, M., Buxton, W., Baecker, R. & Sellen, A. (2006).
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Traditional References to Prototypes Potentially Off Target
Prototyping Tool
• Visio
• Axure
• Paper
Fidelity
• High
• Medium
• Low
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Alternate Models Suggest Different Way to Think About Prototypes
What do Prototypes Prototype? Houde and Hill (1997)
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Fine Line Between Sketching and Prototyping
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Agenda
• Introduction
• About prototyping
• Prototyping tools
• Case Study and demo
15

An Explosion of Prototyping Tools
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Varying Feature Sets and Costs
Prototyping Tools: Does Fidelity Really Matter? Ledoux and Hoffman (2006)
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Consider Multiple Factors When Selecting Prototyping Tool
• Publishable to a website?
• Platform independent?
• Shared workgroup?
• Cost?
• Code output?
• Multiple fidelity renderings?
• Data integration?
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Agenda
• Introduction
• About prototyping
• Prototyping tools
• Case Study and demo
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Questions?
Contact Me
Michael Hawley
mhawley@madpow.net
@hawleymichael
603-436-7177 (US)
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