Paper prototypes
Encyclopedia
In human–computer interaction
, paper prototyping is a widely used method in the user-centered design process
, a process that helps developers to create software that meets the user's expectations and needs - in this case, especially for designing
and testing
user interface
s. It is throwaway prototyping and involves creating rough, even hand-sketched, drawings of an interface to use as prototypes, or models, of a design. While paper prototyping seems simple, this method of usability testing
can provide a great deal of useful feedback which will result in the design of better products. This is supported by many usability professionals.[2]
, Honeywell
, Microsoft
, and others started using the technique in developing their products. Today, paper prototyping is used widely in user centered design by usability professionals. More recently, digital paper prototyping has been advocated by companies like Pidoco
due to advantages in terms of collaboration, flexibility and cost.
There are different methods of paper prototyping, each of them showing several benefits regarding the communication within the development team and the quality of the product to be developed: In the development team paper prototypes can serve as a visual specification of the graphical user interface, and by this means assure the quality of a software. Prototyping forces a more complete design of the user interface to be captured. In team meetings they provide a communication base between the team members. Testing prototypes at an early stage in development helps to identify software usability problems even before any code is written. The costs and annoyances of later changes are reduced, the support burden is lowered, and the overall quality of the software or website is increased[5].
Communication in the Team
Usability Testing
Design Testing
Information Architecture
Rapid Prototyping
Human–computer interaction
Human–computer Interaction is the study, planning, and design of the interaction between people and computers. It is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design and several other fields of study...
, paper prototyping is a widely used method in the user-centered design process
User-centered design
In broad terms, user-centered design or pervasive usability is a design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of end users of a product are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process...
, a process that helps developers to create software that meets the user's expectations and needs - in this case, especially for designing
User interface design
User interface design or user interface engineering is the design of computers, appliances, machines, mobile communication devices, software applications, and websites with the focus on the user's experience and interaction...
and testing
Usability testing
Usability testing is a technique used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users use the system...
user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
s. It is throwaway prototyping and involves creating rough, even hand-sketched, drawings of an interface to use as prototypes, or models, of a design. While paper prototyping seems simple, this method of usability testing
Usability testing
Usability testing is a technique used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users use the system...
can provide a great deal of useful feedback which will result in the design of better products. This is supported by many usability professionals.[2]
History
Paper prototyping started in the mid 1980s and then became popular in the mid 1990s when companies such as IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and others started using the technique in developing their products. Today, paper prototyping is used widely in user centered design by usability professionals. More recently, digital paper prototyping has been advocated by companies like Pidoco
Pidoco
The Pidoco Usability Suite is a cloud-based collaboration software by Pidoco GmbH for creating, sharing and testing wireframes, mockups and prototypes of websites, mobile apps and enterprise software applications.- Pidoco Usability Suite :...
due to advantages in terms of collaboration, flexibility and cost.
Benefits
Paper prototyping saves time and money since it enables developers to test product interfaces (from software and websites to cell phones and microwave ovens) before they write code or begin development. This also allows for easy and inexpensive modification to existing designs which makes this method useful in the early phases of design. Using paper prototyping allows the entire creative team to be involved in the process, which eliminates the chance of someone with key information not being involved in the design process. Another benefit of paper prototyping is that users feel more comfortable being critical of the mock up because it doesn’t have a polished look[4].There are different methods of paper prototyping, each of them showing several benefits regarding the communication within the development team and the quality of the product to be developed: In the development team paper prototypes can serve as a visual specification of the graphical user interface, and by this means assure the quality of a software. Prototyping forces a more complete design of the user interface to be captured. In team meetings they provide a communication base between the team members. Testing prototypes at an early stage in development helps to identify software usability problems even before any code is written. The costs and annoyances of later changes are reduced, the support burden is lowered, and the overall quality of the software or website is increased[5].
When to use paper prototypes
Paper prototypes should be considered when the following is true[1]:- When the tools the designer wants to use in creating a prototype are not available.
- When the designer wants to make a sincere effort to allow all members of a team, including those with limited software skills, to take part in the design process.
- When tests of a design lead to a great deal of drawings.
Applying paper prototypes
The most important areas of application of paper prototypes are the following:Communication in the Team
- One of the major applications of Paper Prototyping is brainstorming in the development team, to collect and visualise ideas on how an interface might look. The interface is built up step by step, meeting the expectations of all team members. To probe the applicability of the software design, typical use cases are played through and possible pitfalls are identified. The prototype can then be used as a visual specification of the software.
Usability Testing
- Paper prototypes can be used for usability testingUsability testingUsability testing is a technique used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users use the system...
with five to ten real users. In such a test, the user performs realistic tasks by interacting with the paper prototype. The prototype is manipulated by another person reflecting the software's reactions to the user input actions. Though seemingly unsophisticated, this method is very successful at discovering usability issues early in the design process.
- Three techniques of paper prototyping used for usability testing are comps (short for compositions), wireframes, and storyboards. Comps are visual representations, commonly of websites, that demonstrate various aspects of the interface including fonts, colors, and logos. A wireframeWebsite wireframeA website wireframe, also known as a page schematic or screen blueprint, is a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a website. The wireframe depicts the page layout or arrangement of the website’s content, including interface elements and navigational systems, and how they work...
is used to demonstrate the page layout of the interface. Lastly, the storyboards are a series or images that are used to demonstrate how an interface works[2]. These three techniques are useful and can be turned into paper prototypes.
Design Testing
- Especially in Web Design, paper prototypes can be used to probe the illegibility of a design: A high-fidelity design mockup of a page is printed and presented to a user. Among other relevant issues the user is asked to identify the main navigation, clickable elements, etc. Paper prototyping is also the recommended design testing technique in the contextual designContextual designContextual Design is a user-centered design process developed by Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt. It incorporates ethnographic methods for gathering data relevant to the product via field studies, rationalizing workflows, and designing human-computer interfaces...
process.
Information Architecture
- By applying general and wide paper prototypes, the information architecture of a software or web site can be tested. Users are asked where they would search for certain functionality or settings in software, or topics in a web site. According to the percentage of correct answers, the information architecture can be approved or further refined.
Rapid Prototyping
- Paper prototyping is often used as the first step of rapid prototypingRapid prototypingRapid prototyping is the automatic construction of physical objects using additive manufacturing technology. The first techniques for rapid prototyping became available in the late 1980s and were used to produce models and prototype parts. Today, they are used for a much wider range of applications...
. Rapid prototyping involves a group of about four designers who each create a paper prototype and test it on a single user. After this is done, the designers share their feedback and ideas, at which point, each of them creates a second prototype - this time using Microsoft PowerPoint or a similar computer application. Functionality is similarly unimportant, but in this case, the aesthetics are closer to the final product. Again each designer's computer prototype is tested on a single user, and the designers meet to share feedback. At this point, actual software prototypes can be created. Usually after these steps have been taken, the actual software is user-friendly the first time around, which saves valuable programming time.
See also
- Prototyping
- Software PrototypingSoftware prototyping*Software prototyping, refers to the activity of creating prototypes of software applications, i.e., incomplete versions of the software program being developed...
- User Centered Design
- Cardboard engineeringCardboard engineeringCardboard modeling is a form of modelling with paper, card stock, paperboard, and corrugated fiberboard. The term "cardboard engineering" is sometimes used to differentiate from craft of making decorative cards...