This document discusses building and evaluating prototypes. It explains that prototyping helps teams fully understand user experiences and uncover missing details. Different types of prototypes are described, including clickable prototypes, flow charts, and service blueprints. Tips are provided for evaluating prototypes with users, such as defining a clear goal, asking users to think out loud, and resisting the urge to explain the prototype. Common insights from evaluations include usability, content, and structure changes. The document emphasizes that all solutions are prototypes that can be improved.

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Chapter Stage
Building and Evaluating
Prototypes
Renner Modafares
February 2020

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Why prototype?
Building detailed prototypes of your users’
experiences helps teams fully understand
exactly what they should make or create.
This work also uncovers missing details
and new questions that can be resolved
through design research.

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Translating to the “Loopverse”…
Observe Reflect
Analysis
Paralysis
Make

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What does a detailed prototype look like?
Detailed prototypes come in
many forms. They can be low-
or high-fidelity depending on
where you are in the Loop.

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Some types of prototypes
Clickable
prototype
Complex
flow-chart
Service
blueprint

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Clickable prototype
• A digital experience (e.g. website, mobile
app) that people interact with directly, even
if the back-end system isn’t functioning.
• These experiences can be made with
prototyping software (e.g. Invision, Sketch),
directly in code, or even with paper and pen.
The point is to show complex screen flows,
explain functionality, or test specific
interactions with users.

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Complex flow-chart
• A diagram that shows the possible user paths through a system.
• Flow charts can show a user going through a physical
experience, like going through airport security, or a digital
experience, like purchasing a car online.

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Service blueprint
• A specific diagram that shows all
angles of a user’s experience as a
system. It represents the point of view
of the end user with stakeholders, the
service providers, and their
technology systems.
• These are powerful artifacts that layer
multiple human interactions with the
technological systems that make
those experiences possible.

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Okay, I finally finished
my prototype.
How can I evaluate it?

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Showing, don’t telling
The best way to help your users and stakeholders
understand an idea is by letting them interact with
it directly.
It’s important to shape your idea into a form where
it can speak for itself — where you can learn what’s
working and what’s missing just by watching
someone interact with it.

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Tips to conduct your user during a
prototype evaluation (1/3)
Define a clear goal to be completed during a test
Even if your full solution is trying to solve a huge problem in many details,
remember to focus the prototype evaluation in a specific scenario per time,
gathering insights and repeating the test if needed. Prepare a research plan is a
good guidance for this tip.
Don’t go alone
Bring a teammate to help you during the test, so you don’t miss anything, while
your peer take notes of all scripted actions and main goals to be evaluated.
Print out your interview guide
Have a clue of uncovered questions, assumptions or any other important aspect of
your prototype can be useful to bring meaningful reflections during the test.

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Tips to conduct your user during a
prototype evaluation (2/3)
Ask permission to record the test
It will be very useful watch again specific details during the idea
improvement, also is a way to show to all the team involved the test results.
Give a brief description of the product
You will not explain the details of your prototype, it’s exactly what will be
checked during the test. But an overview of the actual version of the
prototype is appropriated to guide the user.
Ask the user to think out loud during the test
Make sure the user is comfortable to externalize all thoughts about the
prototype during the test. That’s the way to collect all his/her impressions.

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Tips to conduct your user during a
prototype evaluation (3/3)
Note any uncertainties they have about what to do next
Expressions like “should I click here?”, “what do I do now?” are examples of
uncertainties during the test.
Dig deeper when the user has a clear reaction
“Cool”, “hmm”, “got it”… Even thinking out loud, sometimes the user must
clarify what exactly means his/her reaction to a specific action.
Resist the urge to explain or direct the user
You will not explain the details of your prototype, it’s exactly what will be
checked during the test. Let the user tell his perception and questions, and if
asked about some function, ask back “what they’d expect” from this function.

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Common insights after a prototype test
Small usability changes
Move buttons around on a website so that the actions are
more clear to users.
Content changes
Replace the words or images so the message makes
more sense to users.
Structure updates
Change the order of different tasks within a process.

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Everything we make is a
prototype
No idea or solution is ever done.

16. Thank you!