Database Reference
In-Depth Information
5.4 TESTING AND ITERATION
Atthispoint,theteamisreadytocompletetheinteractiondesignknowingthatthestructure
of the system makes sense. But it's important to recognize that neither the structure, nor
the UI, nor even the product concept has been validated with users. Is this product concept
something anyone wants to buy or use? Will this structure actually work in the context of
users'reallives?Aniterative approachtodesignsaysateamshoulddotheminimumwork
necessary to create a prototype just good enough to give reliable feedback on whether the
basic design concepts work.Acomplete design isnotnecessary tostart this validation pro-
cess—you don't need a fully rendered visual treatment or even all parts of the system fully
defined.
Contextual Design focuses on how to validate and iterate product designs to ensure that
teams build the right thing for their users and their business. So we will skip over the de-
tails of how to design a good UI—there are lots of other good topics on these disciplines
that we don't need to duplicate. Our emphasis is on using structural thinking in the UED
andinteractiondesignpatternstogetthebasicsright,thendoingquickiterationswithusers
to refine the details and nail down latent needs.
In Contextual Design testing and iteration starts by creating a rough prototype of the
design, usually in paper, and having users work with the prototype in field interviews.
Users cannot give good feedback if presented with models or even storyboards direc-
tly—such design artifacts are too abstract, and too much of users' knowledge of their own
work is tacit. However, users can interact with a user interface mockup and talk about their
reactions. If the product is a device, they can hold it in their hands and experience the form
factor. So to test ideas, a team moves quickly through initial storyboarding, UED, and UI
design, and produces a rough user interface as soon as possible. This rough user interface
is mocked up and tested with users. Typically, the time from ideation to mockup interview
is only a few weeks.
Mockup interviews help designers understand why design elements work or fail and
help to identify needed new function, especially latent needs that could not be discovered
until the user started interacting with the design. This iterative testing starts with rough
mockups built using ordinary stationery supplies (
Figure 5.6
). Rough prototypes provide
several advantages: they are quick to build; they communicate to the user that the design
is incomplete and invite feedback; they are easy to modify during the prototype interview
to instantly try out changes and new design ideas; and they focus users and designers on
the fundamental structure, high-level interaction pattern, and top function of the proto-
type, rather than low-level details of the user interface. And they can quickly represent the
product function across multiple platforms.
