- We might believe our design is awesome,
but how do we know for sure?
Paper prototype creation and usability testing
are fast, cheap, incredibly easy ways to see
whether we covered all the angles.
The prototype can be created in a day,
and then usability tested with real consumers the next day
to see how well it works for them,
whether they understand the concepts,
and what changes you'll need to make
before the product's ready for development.
There's no need to go to a higher fidelity than
a sticky notes on copier paper design.
In fact, you'll get more honest feedback from consumers if
you keep the interface low-fidelity and sketch-like,
because they'll realize you're still open to making changes.
Their feedback can be brutal,
but it's much better to hear it now than
after you've spent weeks or months creating a backhand
and an interface, only to realize
you have to redo everything.
Paper prototyping is much cheaper than rework.
You can learn a lot,
even from such an early, low-fidelity interaction.
The confidence you get from seeing your ideas work
and the course corrections you get when they don't
both make it easier to move forward,
knowing that you're on the right track
to deliver something that customers will want and need.
This paper prototype usability test is
only the first of many customer check-ins
and other metrics-gathering activities
aimed at making sure you stay
on track during the development process.