This document discusses how paper prototyping can help founders improve their product's user experience early in the development process. It recommends creating low-fidelity paper prototypes to test with users, identifying issues, and iteratively refining designs based on feedback before implementing interfaces in code. The process of rapid prototyping and testing allows founders to learn what users need through direct observation and make the user experience a priority from the start.

1. UX for Founders: Paper Prototyping
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2. Sunday, June 17, 12

3. The Lean Startup Cycle
IDEAS
LEARN BUILD
DATA PRODUCT
MEASURE
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4. The UX Cycle
IDEAS
LEARN BUILD
DATA PRODUCT
MEASURE
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5. The UX Cycle
Team planning,
Interview guides, IDEAS
Pair interviewing,
Personas,
Collaborative LEARN BUILD
design
DATA PRODUCT
MEASURE
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6. The UX Cycle
IDEAS
Team sketching,
Prototypes
LEARN BUILD
DATA PRODUCT
MEASURE
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7. The UX Cycle
IDEAS
LEARN BUILD
DATA PRODUCT
MEASURE
Qualitative
evalutation
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8. Paper Prototyping
• learn to create a working paper
prototype for testing
• prototyping tricks for simulating
different kinds of user interfaces
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9. Paper Prototype
A quick visualization of an interface idea
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10. Paper Sketches
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11. Paper Prototype
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12. Paper Prototyping
• Fast and inexpensive
• Identifies problems before they’re coded
• Early and frequent feedback from users
• Low opportunity cost
• Helps developers think creatively
• Jot notes on the mockups
• Foster teamwork and communication
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13. When to do it?
• Teams with non-technical members
• High level of uncertainty
• Experimenting with solutions
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14. Where to start?
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15. Let’s get started!
• Pick 1 main user goal. Sketch flow of screens
needed to accomplish this 1 task. 5 min
• Using cards, postits, tape, etc., design a
working paper prototype.
• Test. List issues and possible design changes.
• Implement most important design changes.
• Test again.
• What did you learn?
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16. Task #, Task Name
Goal/Output: Task is complete when....
Inputs: Data input, if any
Assumptions: What do you want to learn?
Steps: Actions needed to complete task
Time for Expert: How fast can an expert complete?
Instructions for User: Set scenario.You are trying to...
why you created the task, what to
Notes: watch for, questions to ask
users after the task is complete
Measure time it takes to complete task
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17. Let’s get started!
• Pick 1 main user goal. Sketch flow of screens
needed to accomplish this 1 task.
• Using cards, postits, tape, etc., design a
working paper prototype. 5 min
• Test. List issues and possible design changes.
• Implement most important design changes.
• Test again.
• What did you learn?
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18. Usability Testing
• Minimize implementation by building only
those pieces you need for a specific iteration.
• 5 people will get you 80% of the problems
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19. Let’s iterate!
• Pick 1 main user goal. Sketch flow of screens
needed to accomplish this 1 task.
• Using cards, postits, tape, etc., design a
working paper prototype. 5 min
• Test. List issues and possible design changes.
• Implement most important design changes.
• Test again.
• What did you learn?
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20. Improve your product’s UX by actively
seeking out user feedback.
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21. Improve this experience with your
feedback please :)
bit.ly/ux-proto
Questions?
grace@leanstartupmachine.com
@uxceo
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