The word prototype originally comes from the Latin word proto (original) and types (model).

Rapid prototype means the speedy way to create a full-scale original model, a sample on which to base future designs.

Why rapid prototyping?

Would you buy a car without test driving it? Would you rather know if the product is going to fail soon or later?

Rapid prototyping helps validates the soon to be a product without having to build the actual product. Keith Richards, a UK’s Agile experts, once said, “If you are going to fail, fail fast.”

Last June, I’ve had an opportunity to take on a consulting role as a Lead UX/UI Designer at Verifone, an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, that provides technology for electronic payment transactions and value-added services at the point-of-sale.

One of my projects, a new feature was introduced to the product team. The feature was based entirely on the end-users’ connectivities. We gathered all user inputs, bug reports, connectivity statistics. Our team went through some intense brainstorming sessions with many key stakeholders; product manager, director of product, engineers, and myself (a Lead UX/UI Designer). Within a few weeks, we were able to narrow down our obvious problems with immediate solutions. Throughout the UX design process, I found myself producing many rapid wireframe prototypes which helped the team nailed down the final design and workflow. The end result was very rewarding.

The process of rapid prototyping

One thing to remember, there is no One–Size–Fits–All Solution for every design problem. A good designer should always find the way to incorporate the core design principal into his/her design process.

The three-step process of iterations.

1. Prototype
   Interpret the users’ solution into a series of low-fi wireframes and mock-ups. In this state, the prototype should only have enough details to get the point across.
2. Review
   Put the prototype in front of the users and evaluate it. Observe and document the users’ natural behavior.
3. Refine
   Identify and clarify the problems, based on the users’ feedback. If necessary, repeat the steps over again.

A few benefits of rapid prototyping

• Serves as a safety net in a design.
• Sees positive reactions from the real users.
• Helps verify the problems and validate the solutions.
• Testing ideas without building them are much cheaper and more effective.
• Produces real-world data that can help designers, developers, and stakeholders to gain more confidence.

The conclusion

You will be surprised by how much time and money you ended up saving down the road by investing in prototyping early on in the design process. Rapid prototyping can help your team on the right path to victory.

If you would like to learn more about UX design, please visit my previous post, UX Design – Why Does It Matter?

Happy designing.

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In the previous post, I briefly talked about a UX design process. Keep in mind that not every design project will use the exact same process. I like to think of a UX design process as a guideline, not as being set in stone. Different organizations usually have their own favorite UX design process. My personal favorite is “Google Design Sprint.“

UX Design Process focuses on solving a user problem

In the past 5 years, Google has helped me grow tremendously both in person and as a designer. In 2013, I joined Google as a Sr. Interactive Designer to lead a small design team. Later in 2016, I transitioned to take on a new role as a UX Product Technology Manager. Both roles had taught me that “there is no one-size-fits-all solution in design.” Every problem has its own agenda but they all normally share the same design principal… to “focus on solving a user problem.“

What is Design Sprint?

According to designsprintkit.withgoogle.com…

A design sprint is a five-phase framework that helps answer critical business questions through rapid prototyping and user testing. Sprints let your team reach clearly defined goals and deliverables and gain key learnings, quickly. The process helps spark innovation, encourage user-centered thinking, align your team under a shared vision, and get you to product launch faster.

A design sprint divided into five suggested steps; Understanding, Sketch, Decide, Prototype, and Validate. Keep in mind that not all steps would necessarily be used at the same time. It will depend on what design problem you are facing. The timeframe to complete a Design Sprint varies from project to project. The general time frame is five working days, essentially one step per day. However, I’ve seen a Design Sprint completed within one or two days. The goal is to pinpoint things that need to be focused on. This is to help get things moving forward quickly without launching an actual product.

The Five Steps

1. Understanding
I personally call it, a gathering stage. This is a time that everyone gathers together. Everyone gives their input from a different angle. The goal is to help each other map out the problems and share the ideas.

2. Sketch
No sketch is a bad sketch. This is probably my favorite step. Everyone draws something in the given time frame. Later, this general range of ideas will be narrowed down and put into a select category.

3. Decide
It’s a lockdown time! The team will choose which idea to be prototyped. What I like to do is to narrow the ideas down to the three best ideas then pick the best one to be prototyped.

4. Prototype
In this step, we will build a prototype that only matters from what we selected in step #4. The prototype should only be to validate the idea and should be built within the short period of time. This means don’t focus too much time on details, but rather focusing on the steps to get a user from point A to point B.

5. Validate
A fancy word for testing. This is a moment of truth step! We put the prototype in front of users. We observe the users’ reactions, collect feedback and then make an adjustment based on their inputs. If the idea fails, then start over again.

Why should you use a Design Sprint?

Here are a few benefits of using a Design Sprint as a part of your UX design process.

• Can be used at any time.
• Helps bring everyone together.
• Excellent way to validate the best idea.
• Gets a real-time feedback without launching a real product.
• Fails fast so you can recover quickly.
• Solves design problems in a short amount of time.
• and many more…

To learn more about design sprint, visit designsprintkit.withgoogle.com. I hope that you will give it a try on your next design project. If you are new to UX Design, please visit my previous post, UX Design – Why does it matter?

Happy designing,

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What is UX?

Here’s the definition of User Experience according to Wikipedia.

“the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product.”

What does a UX designer do?

Most companies focus on their brands first. However, a UX designer focuses first on the users. While a company thinks about how to get more traffic to their sites, a UX designer says, “How does the user spend time on the site? What are they looking for? Is the site easy to navigate? What information is missing?”

A typical UX designer touches many areas of marketing, engineer, research, design, and so on. A UX designer’s goal is to bring all these experiences to a user. Here are some common aspects a UX designer usually focuses on …

Who is the primary target user?
EX: College students? Gamers? Realtors?

How does a user get from point A to point B?
EX: What route did they end up taking?

How long does it take for a user to complete a task?
EX: How many steps to complete a profile setup?

What action did a user end up taking?
EX: Did a user sign up for a newsletter? Did a user click on the ads or purchase a product?

How does UX help the brand?

In order to solve your brand problem, you must first solve your user problem. Think of it this way, a brand without a user is not a brand. At the end of the day, it only matters if your product helps your users accomplish their tasks. Only then your brand will be remembered.

Let’s take a look at a real-life example – Starbucks Coffee

 Why is Starbucks one of the most successful coffee company in the world?

• Original product
  Starbucks coffee tastes nice and smooth because they roast their beans at a higher temperature for a longer period of time. It helps to bring out more of the flavor. (source – Starbucks)
• Satisfy experience
  Starbucks specialty drinks such as Mocha Frappuccino, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade are so popular that it keeps their customer coming back every day. No one else makes them like they do.
• Trusted brand
  Starbucks’ brand is a trusted brand. You can expect the same experience at any Starbucks. Same great taste coffee, same environment, clean restroom, free WiFi, and so on. This is what customers can count on at every visit.

How does a UX designer help improve user experience?

There are many ways to measure the success of a UX design. It can be time-saving, increasing new customers, increasing volume of a mobile app download, and so on. However, a good UX design should at least improve these three areas.

1. Ease of use
   Is the product simple to use? How easy is your app navigation? How easy is the product checkout process?
2. Easy access
   It should make it easy to access and get information about your product. The actual product label, a website, and a mobile app should all shared the same experience.
3. Satisfaction
   Is your product helpful? Does it make a user happy? Is your product safe? Does a user feel proud to share your product with others?

As you can see, UX design is all about understanding the end users. Without them, your product is meaningless.

I hope that you find this article helpful. Next time, we will take a look more closely at the UX design process.

Happy designing,

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