Topics in Usability
Prototyping

GeneralHiFi v. LoFiPaper Prototyping Other TechniquesTools

General

Deborah Hix and H. Rex Hartson Developing User Interfaces (ISBN 0-471-57813-4) has a chapter on rapid prototyping.

Laura Arlov, in GUI Design for Dummies (ISBN 0-7645-0213-1), recommends paper prototyping because:

• since the prototypes don't look real to customers, they are not so likely to create unrealistic expectations
• you get more useful comments when you work with a paper prototype (more about the task, less about how things look).
• a design you've invested minutes to create has a looser grip on your ego than one on which you've spent hours, allowing you to keep a more open mind to changes and suggestions.

Tognazzini, B. The 'Starfire' Video Prototype Project: A Case History.

Group for User Interface Research Publications - links to many papers on prototyping and prototyping tools including general techniques, SUEDE, SILK and others.

The Perils of Prototyping - by Alan Cooper

HiFi v. LoFi

Virzi, R. A. What you can learn from a low fidelity prototype. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 34th AnnualMeeting. 224-228.

Virzi, R. A. Sokolov, J. L. and Karis, D. Usability Problem Identification Using Both Low- and High-Fidelity Prototypes. Conference Proceedings on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1996, Pages 236 - 243

Rudd, J. Stern, K. Isensee, S. Low Vs. High-Fidelity Prototyping Debate. Interactions. January 1996. 76-85.

Berghel, H. New Wave Prototyping: Use and Abuse of Vacuous Prototypes. Interactions. April 1994. 49-54.

Nielsen, J. Paper Versus Computer Implementations as Mockup Scenarios for Heuristic Evaluation. Proceedings of INTERACT90, 315-320.

Paper Prototyping

Snyder. C.  Paper prototyping The fast and easy way to define and refine user interfaces. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco, CA, 2003

Prototyping Using Visio by Robin Kavanagh and John Soety (in Usability Interface)

HFI UI Design Update on Paper Prototyping - This edition cites:

• Adding Interactivity to Paper Prototypes, Uceta, F.A. Dixon, M.A. and Resnick, M.L., Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting, 506-511, (1998)
• Usability Evaluation and Prototype Fidelity: Users and Usability Professionals, Catani, M.B. and Biers, D.W., Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting, 1331-1336, (1998).

Jason I. Hong, Francis C. Li, James Lin, and James A. Landay End-User Perceptions of Formal and Informal Representations of Web Sites In Human Factors in Computer Systems: CHI 2001 Conference Extended Abstracts, Seattle, WA, March 31-April 5, 2001 and available online from Group for User Interface Research - Publications

Visio - the interaction designer's nail gun - Henrick Olsen a how-to from GUUUI

Other Techniques

Usability Methods Toolbox (Section on prototyping)

Interactive Sketching for the Early Stages of User Interface Design by James A. Landay and Brad A. Myers

Beagley, N. I., Field based prototyping. In Jordan, P.W. et al. (Eds), Usability Evaluations in Industry: Taylor & Francis: London,1996, 95-104.

Bowers, J. and Pycock, J. Talking Through Design: Requirements and Resistance in Cooperative Prototyping.

Richards, J. T., Boies, S.J. and Gould, J.D. Rapid prototyping and system development: examination of an interface toolkit for voice and telephony applications, in Mantie, M. and Orbeton, P. (Eds.) Proceedings of CHI 86, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986.

Uceta F.A., Dixon M.A. and Resnick M.L.  Adding interactivity to paper
prototypes. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd
Annual Conference, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 1998. 506-510.

Tools

Canvas - Cross platform visualization tools

Denim and Silk - Informal tools for early stage design from the University of California at Berkeley

Inspiration -A tool to develop ideas and organize thinking. Visual outliner can be used for early conceptual prototypes.

Suede - A Wizard of Oz prototyping tool for speech user interfaces from the University of California at Berkeley

Microsoft Visio Tips & Tricks

Flowcharting software can be used for prototyping. Programs mentioned include: ABC Flowcharter, NetVis, Winflow

Electronic tools for drawing include: Seiko SmartPad, CrossPad