Prototyping

Sketches, storyboards, and other prototypes

Agenda

Questions? Prototyping terms Scenarios and Sketches Storyboards Interface Prototypes Exercise Next time: Design of Everyday Things

Dilemma

You can’t evaluate a design until it’s built– But…

After building, changes to the design are difficult

Simulate the design, in low-cost manner

Design Artifacts

Expressing design ideas:– Make it fast!!!– Allow lots of flexibility for radically different

designs– Make it cheap– Promote valuable feedback

Facilitate iterative design and evaluation

Prototype representation

How to represent the prototype?– Mockup– Storyboard– Sketches– Scenarios– Screenshots– Functional interface

Prototype scope

How much to represent?– Vertical - “Deep” prototyping

Show much of the interface, but in a shallow manner

– Horizontal - “Broad” prototyping Show only portion of interface, but large amount of those

portions

Prototype maturation

Low fidelity vs. High fidelity

Amount of polish should reflect maturity of the prototype

Why?

Design Description

Can simply have a textual description of a system design– Obvious weakness is that it’s so far from eventual

system– Doesn’t do a good job representing visual aspects

of interface

– Good for accompanying visual description in report (*hint hint*)

Scenarios

Fictional stories with characters, products, events and environments.

Typically narratives, but can be videos, simulations

Jane likes to take walks every morning. This morning, as she places her hand on the door, she hears “75% chance of rain, better bring your umbrella.” Thankful for the notice, she grabs her umbrella and heads out for her morning walk.

Scenario Utility

Engaging and interesting Another person’s shoes Present to different people Facilitates feedback and opinions Explore errors or mistakes

Good for accompanying sketches, mockups, etc.

Storyboard

Determine the story– A very iterative process through a lot of initial

drafts– Includes a lot of brainstorming

Sketch on pen + paper Generate more polished art for

presentation Develop

More detailed scenario

Jane’s class just got out and she wants to know whether to take the shuttle or walk back to her dorm. She opens her cell phone and starts the web browser. She opens her bookmarks and clicks on the bus location page. The page displays a list of the shuttle lines on campus. She selects the Nugget. The next page is a list of bus stops. She scrolls down and selects Woodward Hall. The page then displays that the next shuttle should arrive in 2 minutes. Jane leaves the building to head down to the bus stop to wait for the shuttle.

Use taglines / captions

Keep it short: show as much as necessary but not more

Drawing is hard…

But it doesn’t have to be

Drawing is hard…

It doesn’t have to be drawings..

Remember…

Different presentation format means you can do more!

Think about how long you have a captive audience

Think about how much you want to tell Think about options for presenting

sequences of drawing

Sketches

Generally for depicting physical aspects of system

Taken from Builder Bobs team project Summer 04

Mockups / Wireframes

Good for brainstorming Focuses people on high-level design notions Not so good for illustrating flow and the

details

Paper prototyping

“Paper prototyping is a variation of usability testing where representative users perform realistic tasks by interacting with a paper version of the interface that is manipulated by a person ‘playing computer,’ who doesn’t explain how the interface is intended to work.”

The "Computer" highlights the item the user has just selected. A member of the development team observes and takes notes. (Photo courtesy of Timo Jokela.)

Taken from Paper Prototyping by Carolyn Snyderhttp://www.paperprototyping.com/

Draw/Paint programs

Draw each screen, good for look

Thin, horizontal prototype

PhotoShop, Paint,...

IP Address

CancelOK

Simulations

Put storyboard-like views down with (animated) transitions between them

Can give user very specific script to follow Often called chauffeured prototyping

Examples: PowerPoint, Hypercard, Macromedia Director, HTML

Interface Builders

Tools for laying out windows, controls, etc. of interface

– Easy to develop & modify screens– Supports type of interface you are developing– Good look and feel– Can add back-end functionality

Examples: Visual Basic, .NET, many apps for various languages

Visual Basic

UI Controls

Design area

Controlproperties

Macromedia Director

Combines various media with script written in Lingo language

Concerned with place and time– Objects positioned in space on “stage”– Objects positioned in time on “score”

Easy to transition between screens Can export as executable or as Web

Shockwave file

Specialized

SILK (Sketching Interfaces Like Krazy) / DENIM– Sketch-based GUI builder– http://dub.washington.edu/denim/– http://www.open-video.org/details.php?

videoid=5018

by James Landay’s and his former group at UC Berkeley

Prototyping Technique

Wizard of Oz - Person simulates and controls system from “behind the scenes”– Use mock interface and

interact with users– Good for simulating

system that would be difficult to build

Can be either computer-based or not

Wizard of Oz

Method:– Behavior should be algorithmic– Good for voice recognition systems

Advantages:– Allows designer to immerse oneself in situation– See how people respond, how specify tasks

Review

Low-fidelity Medium-fidelity High-fidelity

Sketches, mock-ups Slide shows

Simulations

System prototypes

Scenarios

Storyboards

For more: take ITIS 3050 (number will soon change)

Rapid Prototyping and Interface Building Offered next fall

Assignment: Storyboard

Due next Tuesday Create a storyboard for your project

– This CAN be about a potential design– 4 to 6 panels is sufficient

Bring to class on paper if you do not have access to a scanner

Crazy design time

Remember all the ways of doing interaction? Voice, pen, gesture, and even ways we didn’t talk about

Come up with a design idea for system at bus or train stops. Should allow you to do useful or entertaining things – perhaps buy tickets, check on schedules, get maps, tell you about the area, etc...

Be a little crazy – think of the user, but don’t just do the plain and expected kiosk.

Express your design ideas with low fidelity prototypes. Sketch. Storyboard. Scenario.