Prototyping is not a necessary part of the product development process. Instead, it serves as a way to quickly get feedback from stakeholders and users. Prototyping is an integral part of every product team. Prototyping is becoming more accessible and affordable, and its importance becomes even more apparent and irreplaceable. It is now a matter of whether prototyping is necessary. However, it is worth asking how to get the most out of prototyping. Here’s a quick overview of prototyping
It’s important to establish some basics about prototyping just in case.
Let’s start with the basics of product development.
1) Idea Generation
2) Demand Generation
3) Function and Structure
4) Prototyping Stage
5) PRD (replaced for most occasions by prototyping)
6) Road Map
It clearly illustrates the importance of prototyping for the entire production process. After doing sufficient UX research (including gathering data, information, and evaluation), we create a prototyping template. Prototyping, when completed, is presented to show how stakeholders and end users can make function and interaction from any element given.
Second, the types of prototyping
1) Paper Prototype: A printed or hand-drawn representation illustrating the user interface for a software product
2) The User Experience Prototype: demonstrates enough of the product’s appearance and function
3) Visual Prototype: This represents the size and appearance of the prototype, but not its functionality
This article will discuss prototyping tools. It involves both the visual and user experience aspects and is also the most practical and popular. Mockplus has been my favorite prototyping tool for many years. I will show you how to get the most out of it.
2. Prototyping has many advantages
You want to be able to share the moment your prototype has amazed someone. First, you should review the benefits and then consider how to best use them.
1) Offers functionality and interaction.
A static wireframe and mockup are not able to convey animation. However, prototyping can be done with interaction.
2) Communicate with your boss, stockholders, and users.
Communication is essential. The more they get to know your design, then the greater the chance that you will be able to buy them in.
3) Detect errors sooner and save money.
Trust me, mistakes in prototyping are less costly than those in later stages of development.
4) Increase collaboration between your team members. It can greatly improve efficiency.
5) Get user feedback and get involved in multiple-testing. It is a crucial factor in iterating and updating.
3. Prototyping has its disadvantages
Avoid falling for the trap of prototyping difficulties. These are serious. If you’ve done them before, rethink.
1) Always use high-fidelity prototyping in the initial stage.
What is high-fidelity prototyping? It includes wireframe, interaction design and logical judgement. It is definitely more time-consuming and requires more energy. UI designers have limited options, despite the fact that there is so much waste. It’s even more bitter when everything has to be redesigned.
2) Bad prototyping demonstrations can degrade your design thinking. This means that your entire design might only be 50% visible to your stockholders or users.
3) Users misunderstand the prototype and final system. High-fidelity designs may cause users to have limited thoughts. They feel that this is how the APP works and they don’t know how to give feedback.
4) Don’t forget feasibility. It is easy to see that some aspects of your design might not be feasible during the actual development phase.