Planning a Usability Study with a Paper Prototype - Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Define and Refine User Interfaces - page 77

Overview of a Usability Study Using a Paper Prototype

Table 5.1 shows the "view from 30,000 feet" of a usability study using a paper prototype. (As a
reminder of the conventions I'm using, a usability study is a series of tests conducted with a given
interface and set of tasks. A usability test is just one session with a user or user pair.) There's more
detail about each activity later on. Reduced to its essentials, the process looks like this:

Determine the goals of the testing—what do you want to learn?

Who are the users? Define them so recruitment can begin.

Create tasks around things that those users do.

Create the paper prototype pieces needed to perform those tasks.

Hold internal walkthroughs to prepare for testing.

Conduct several usability tests, refining the prototype after each test.

Establish priorities for the issues found.

Plan additional changes to the interface in the short term and/or track them so that they can be
resolved later.

Communicate your findings to others who weren't directly involved.

Table 5.1: Overview of a Paper Prototyping Project

What Happens Who Time

Kickoff meeting All stakeholders 3 hours

Discuss goals,
risks, and
concerns

Agree on user
profile

Determine
"core team"

Set schedule

User recruitment 1-2 people if you're doing

this in-house; some
companies outsource this

Depends; a 2-
to 3 -week lead
time is typical

Find people
who match the
user profile and
schedule them

Task design Core team plus anyone

with important input about
what gets tested

3-5 hours

Create the
tasks to be
used in
usability testing