Paper prototype
The paper prototype or paper prototype usually consists of hand-drawn or printed sketches that can be quickly used for manual user tests of surface designs and interaction processes of an IT product to be developed or adapted.
The associated method, paper prototyping , is defined as a method of user- centered design of GUI components. Paper prototyping can be used in a DIN EN ISO 13407 process. Paper prototyping is an established method in design thinking and has long been used in the design of surfaces.
Categories
Paper prototyping can be divided into two categories: “low fidelity” and “high fidelity prototyping”.
Low fidelity prototyping
Low-fidelity prototyping (short lo-fi prototyping , english for low accuracy ) as a test method is the possibility, ideas and processes to consider early.
Advantages:
- no programming effort
- Testing in the conception phase
- easy and quick changes
- Test subjects make an above-average number of suggestions
Disadvantage:
- Interaction processes must already be clearly defined in the conception phase
- many rough drafts
- No functionality of the prototype, therefore only limited error detection
- Prototype can only be used for lo-fi prototyping
- It is possible that not all ideas and processes are technically feasible
High fidelity prototyping
In high-fidelity prototyping ( Hi-Fi prototyping , English for high accuracy ), attention is paid to greater similarity to the final product. Instead of simple materials (pens, sticky notes, etc.), software (e.g. Axure, Balsamiq) is used to design the control elements true to the original.
procedure
If a GUI design already exists that is to be tested, this is printed out. Alternatively, a first rough sketch of the application is created by a member of the development team. This is based on the requirements that have already been specified. All GUI components that can be shown and hidden are printed out or drawn separately.
The test manager sits down with one or two users and gives them a task that they should solve with the new "software". Based on a start mask, the user now spontaneously describes what he wants to do and what he expects to see. The test manager takes on the role of the software by changing the mask or by placing components on the mask or removing them again.
As soon as the test manager identifies new requirements, these are noted down in order to later be included in the requirements specification.
Rapid test
Paper prototyping is also suitable for subjecting ideas for new features or complete interfaces to a first, quick test in order to obtain user feedback before further developing them. The time interval between the idea and the first validation round can thus be reduced to a few minutes. In addition, the initial communication and discussion of the idea is simplified with the help of the visual and haptic support of the paper prototype.
Web links
- Paper prototyping. In: TU Braunschweig, Institute for Construction Technology.
- Video example of a mail program
Individual evidence
- ^ Snyder Carolyn .: Paper prototyping: the fast and easy way to design and refine user interfaces . Morgan Kaufmann, Elsevier Science, San Francisco, Calif. 2003, ISBN 9780080513508 , OCLC 63116735 .