Preparing the Prototype - Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Define and Refine User Interfaces - page 122

Organizing the Prototype
No doubt about it, paper prototyping is messy. One of the challenges is organizing all the pieces of
paper so that the Computer can quickly find the next one. There's no right way to organize a paper
prototype—each Computer will develop his or her own system for locating pieces quickly. But here are
some tips.
Ordering ... not! It's usually not possible to determine the exact order in which screens will be
used. Even if there's an expected sequence of steps, users may back up, jump ahead, do things
that cause error messages, look up something in help, and so on. But if you can be fairly sure that
users will view a series of screens in a fixed order (for example, a tutorial), it may be helpful to
number them on the back.
Table or three-ring binder. Most Computers I've worked with will spread out piles of paper on the
table, but some people use a three-ring binder to hold all the screens and flip back and forth to the
appropriate page. I've never used a binder because it seems a bit limiting—you can't look at more
than one thing at a time and it may take longer to find the next screen when you can't see
everything. On the other hand, a binder is more portable, so do whichever works for you.
Organization by task versus function. Sometimes it can be helpful to organize the pieces by
task—everything for task 1 goes in a folder (or stack), everything for task 2 in another folder, and
so on. However, some pieces may be needed for multiple tasks. If you don't expect the piece to
change (say, the File Open dialog box), you can simply create multiple copies of it and put one in
each folder. If it is likely to change, then you have to remember to create multiple copies of the
revised version as well. This can be a pain if the interface is undergoing rapid iterations, so you
may be better off creating only one version of each piece and putting it in the folder where it will
first be used. In later tasks, take pieces from the folders for earlier tasks as you need them. At the
end of the test, take a couple minutes to put everything back where you'll want it before the start of
the next test.
Use of envelopes. Drop-down menus are usually written on small pieces of paper, so they can
easily get lost in a folder full of larger pieces. One idea is to line them up side-by-side in an open
envelope so that you can quickly find the one you need. If the pieces are small, you can even cut
down the front of the envelope so that they're all visible, as shown in Figure 7.7 .
Figure 7.7: An envelope is a handy way to organize drop-down menus.
A "Gallery of Annoying Pieces." The smaller the pieces are, the more likely they'll get lost. This
goes double for anything that's on removable tape—in the course of leaning across the table, the
Computer invariably ends up with errant prototype parts stuck to his or her elbows (the record I've
seen so far is three). To minimize this problem, designate a piece of paper as the "gallery of
annoying pieces." All the small pieces—including those that come loose during the test—go on that
piece of paper where they're easier to find later. See Figure 7.8 .