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Rapid video prototyping
for connected products
Interaction16 - Workshop - Helsinki

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Hello!
Tom Metcalfe Martin Charlier
@tommetcalfe @marcharlier

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What we’ll do today
• An introduction to video prototyping (20 min)
• Prototyping time (1h 15min)
• Demos and discussion (25 min)

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Designing Connected Products

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“PROTOTYPE”
An experiment designed to
answer specific questions.

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PROTOTYPE EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPE

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What are the tech challenges we will
face?
Can we actually make this work with
the tech we have?
Will it meet the requirements?
Would people use this?
How would it have to work to be
desirable?
Should we build this at all?
What would it feel like to use this?
PROTOTYPE EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPE

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Building
the thing right.
PROTOTYPE EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPE
Building
the right thing.

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negligiblesignificant Cost
hours or daysweeks Time
many & roughfew & precise Answers
PROTOTYPE EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPE

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ELECTRONICS PROTOTYPING
Even electronics prototyping platforms
can sometimes distract and waste time.
“Uh-oh! I’ve just spend an
entire day getting a WiFi
library to work.”

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Prototyping techniques
Media from the future
Storyboards
Physical props & acting out
Wizard of Oz
Video prototypes

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Prototyping techniques
Media from the future
Storyboards
Physical props & acting out
Wizard of Oz
Video prototypes

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Prototyping techniques
Media from the future
Storyboards
Physical props & acting out
Wizard of Oz
Video prototypes
Credit: Robert André

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Prototyping techniques
Media from the future
Storyboards
Physical props & acting out
Wizard of Oz
Video prototypes
Credit: D-LABS

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Prototyping techniques
Media from the future
Storyboards
Physical props & acting out
Wizard of Oz
Video prototypes
Credit: Ericsson Labs, Marcus Nyberg

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Prototyping techniques
Media from the future
Storyboards
Physical props & acting out
Wizard of Oz
Video prototypes

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These are NOT video prototypes.

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It’s not (just) about the video!
80% (The process)
• Rapid iteration and decision making.
• Exploration across physical context,
multiple devices, time and space.
• Forces you to think in a time-based
sequence of events - a user journey.
• Acting out: Empathy with the user. How it
might ‘feel’ like using this.
20% (The video)
• It’s self-explanatory and shareable.
• Film is a widely understood medium that
is easily digestible.
• Less ‘loss in translation’, relies less on
imagination of others.
• It lets viewers judge plausibility (they get a
degree of empathy).

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30 minute prototype for a connected herb garden sensor.
This was a video

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Connected instrument w/ play-along lessons
Credit: Alexandros Kontogeorgakopoulos and Ant Mace / From a workshop run by Tom Metcalfe
This was a video

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Sketch-A-Move: Slightly more elaborate. Both a demonstration and an exploration.
http://www.superflux.in/work/sketch-move
This was a video

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Sketch-A-Move: Behind the scenes
http://www.superflux.in/work/sketch-move
Capture imagination and inspire the team
Matthias Kranz, et. al http://www.eislab.fim.uni-passau.de/files/
publications/2006/SketchAMove_preprint.pdf

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Stills compositions with narration
More info: http://www.cooper.com/journal/2008/12/economizer
This was a video

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A storyboard or video prototype can guide the tech requirements
More info: http://www.cooper.com/journal/2008/12/economizer
Design requirements Design requirements Design requirements Design requirements

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Levels of exploration
Value proposition
Context of use
Interaction
“is there value in this idea?”
“where are the key challenges?”
“would using this on public transport be problematic?”
“would this work in a kitchen environment?”
“how would the interface have to work?”
“what is the right gesture for this?”

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Levels of exploration
Value proposition
Context of use
Interaction
Convince investors
Test desirability with potential users
Articulate a joint vision
Document design requirements
Iterate and refine your design

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How To guide

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What to expect
https://
instagram.com/
explore/tags/
solidprototyping/

Substitution
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The ‘Stop Trick’ (or ‘Substitution splice’)
Recording
STOP START
• Don’t move the camera.
• Keep the same shot.
• Only move the parts
that change.

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Recording
This was a video

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Substitution
This was a video

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Things to know about Instagram
• Press and hold to record.
• 15 seconds maximum - keep that in mind.
• Think 5-6 interactions maximum (2 seconds per shot).
• Plan your shots (maybe a quick storyboard).
• Prototype interface: Works best if actor and camera are the same person.
(Stop trick technique)
• Split across multiple videos if you want a longer story.

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• Technology details
• Lack of user insight
• The quality of the idea /
ideation
• What question you set out
to answer?
• Have you answered it?
• The answer could be ‘it
doesn’t work’ but we’ll
want to know why.
DON’T GET TOO HUNG UP ON WE’RE INTERESTED IN

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The final videos
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ixdprototyping/

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Thank you.
designingconnectedproducts.com