Week 9 / Seventh Lecture : Design, Prototyping and Construction. [Wong Mann Ee]

Lecturer : Madam Mastura
Date : 13 Dec 2011

What is a prototype?
-A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.

-In Interaction Design it can be (among other things):

• a series of screen sketches
• a storyboard, i.e. a cartoon-like series of scenes 
• a PowerPoint slide show
• a video simulating the use of a system
• a lump of wood (e.g. Palm Pilot)
• a cardboard mock-up
• a piece of software with limited functionality written in the target language or in another language

-In other design fields a prototype is a small-scale model:

• a miniature car
• a miniature building or town

Why prototype?

• Evaluation and feedback are central to interaction design
• Stakeholders can see, hold, interact with a prototype more easily than a document or a drawing
• Team members can communicate effectively
• You can test out ideas for yourself
• It encourages reflection: very important aspect of design
• Prototypes answer questions, and support designers in choosing between alternatives

What to prototype?

• Technical issues
• Work flow, task design
• Screen layouts and information display
• Difficult, controversial, critical areas

Summary

1. Prototyping may be low fidelity (such as paper-based) or high fidelity (such as software-based)
2. High-fidelity prototypes may be vertical or horizontal.
3. Low-fidelity prototypes are quick and easy to produce and modify and are used in the early stages. There are two aspects to the design activity: conceptual design and physical design.
4. Conceptual design develops a model of what the product will do and how it will behave, while physical design specifies the details of the design such as screen layout and menu structure.
5. We have explored three perspectives to help you develop conceptual models: an interaction paradigm point of view, an interaction mode point of view, and a metaphor point of view.
6. Scenarios and prototypes can be used effectively in conceptual design to explore ideas.
7. We have discussed four areas of physical design: menu design, icon design, screen design and information display.
8. There is a wide variety of support tools available to interaction designers.

Resource: http://twobenches.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/design-prototyping-and-construction/