Chapter 7
Takeaways
1. An operative image or prototype that has the look and feel of your eventual finished product
allows you to test its effectiveness with its intended users.
2. You can build out an operative image even in the midst of researching users or carrying out
3. The minimum viable product (MVP) approach is a constructive way to create a prototype as
fast as possible, have users use it, then make changes to it and test it again. It is also a fast
way to test a hypothesis about your product and helps answer the question, Do users need
and want it?
4. Paper prototyping allows you to involve users to interact with a simulation of the product
5. A high-fidelity test allows users to use most product functions, but it doesnt necessarily tell
6. Whether you conduct low-fidelity or high-fidelity testing, you need to have a purpose for the
test. Why are you asking users to interact with this prototype?
8. A concurrent design approach calls for designers to design as users simultaneously engage
9. Collaborative prototype design testing can gather quantitative and qualitative data; this mix
may be more appealing than the rougher, more heavily qualitative data that the design studio
Discussion Questions
1. Think of an MVP for a new banking app youre developing. What functions would it have?
What functions would be left off for future iterations or until user feedback determined
whether theyre necessary?
information would you use to develop these scenarios or tasks?
4. If you had only the time, money, and resources to complete low-, medium-, or high-fidelity
prototype testing, which type of test would you recommend?
UCD Quests
1. Imagine your task is to design a paper prototype of a music downloading web site home
screen. Create a scenario and three to four tasks for users. Compare your results with a
2. Work with a classmate or coworker to practice the design studio process. Your task is to
evaluate the user experience of creating a pre-paid postal shipping label. First, define your
3. Find a high-fidelity, fully-functioning web site and spend 20 minutes interacting with it. List
the changes you might make. Next, start from scratch to prepare a competitive web site to