(Prototype & Test) Paper Prototyping and Usability Testing
MSc in User Experience Design — Fundamentals of User Experience Design
Project Introduction — Click here
Prototype: Creation and experimentation
Test: Refining the product
Paper Prototyping
Paper prototyping can be extremely helpful during the early-stage conceptualizing — when a team needs to explore a variety of different concepts and choose the one that will be used. The paper prototype allows quickly visualize and test various ideas. (Nick Babich, 2018)
There are many challenges involved in the paper prototyping, but once you understand the goal and advantages of this technique, you can see why this still being used for professional designers, even with thousands of prototyping applications available nowadays.
The focus for this project was to prototype the screens needed to complete the two main tasks highlighted, and also to have some additional screens in order to be prepared for the different user reactions (in case the user does not follow the happy path defined in the user journey).
All screens can be found here, on Marvel. The link is also available in the appendix section.
One important tip I got from my lectures: Scale up! It really helped me as hand-writing in a real size mobile screen is very difficult.
User testing
The user testing is one of the most important parts of this entire journey, and it was the most challenging one.
As I was doing this project by myself, and had no opportunities to interact with the class in person for the proper user testing with my colleagues, I did the first round of testing with my husband, where I could find out few gaps in the design which were not identified before, and the second round with a work colleague.
First round of paper testing:
With focusing in completing the two tasks defined (purchase a specific item and check carbon footprint history), the testing was conducted without major problems, as it was ‘pre-tested’ beforehand and all the screens and steps were numerated to help in the organization.
And organization is a key point about paper prototyping testing, during the ‘pre-test’, I end up losing track of what should come next in terms of screens and components and realized why adding the numbers (position) in each of the screens were recommended by the lecturers.
Have a very clear defined task, also helps in avoiding the user to go through a path which you do not want to focus your testing in. And finally, have the follow-up questions prepared, to gather a more precise feedback from the user.
During this first round, was possible to identify some missing parts on the overall design and screens, as for example, the log in and sign up page, the return buttons in some of the screens, and information components to help the user to identify what the functionality is.
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Second round of paper testing:
For the second round, the main goal was to test the same tasks, with the corrections identified in the first round applied, and with a different user, so I could receive feedback from a different point of view/perspective.
Again, because of time restraints, only one user (a work colleague) could go through the two tasks defined. And minor points in the design were identified as opportunities for improvements (but not implemented for this iteration).
***Picture***
The main lesson learned during the usability testing is that you need to dedicate time to this important piece of the work. It is during the testing phase that you can leave on the side your assumptions and your attachment to the solution created, and open the borders to receive valuable feedback, from different angles and different perspectives.
Digital user testing:
For the digital testing, using the app Marvel, I have only done the ‘pre-test’, in order to make sure the sequences, transitions and components were correctly placed. Even though I had no possibility to conduct a proper user testing using Marvel, with a real user, it is possible to see the this type of application can help a lot in case you can not have in-person interactions with the user, or even in the overall organization of the testing itself, as the position of the screens and components are already in place.
