Paper Prototyping

Learn the very basics of a powerful way to design and evolve user interaction. Create and revise paper prototypes for a real system in this hands-on workshop module.

It is common to mock up a software product in HTML, PowerPoint, Adobe Fireworks or Photoshop, but consider an alternative to pixels: good old-fashioned paper. Paper prototyping removes all technological barriers and allows everyone into the design process. Not everyone who will have input during the design process knows HTML, and even if they do, they aren’t likely to jump in on the fly in the middle of a demo and redesign a page to show you exactly how they think the software should work.

But everyone who has graduated from kindergarten knows what to do with a stack of paper, pencils and a glue stick. By making your prototype accessible, disposable and non-precious, you encourage participation.

Carolyn Snyder, author of Paper Prototyping, lays out the benefits of the practice:

• Fast way to mock up an interface — no coding required
• Finds a wide variety of problems in an interface, including many of the serious ones
• Allows an interface to be refined based on user feedback before implementation begins
• A multidisciplinary team can participate
• Encourages creativity from the product team and users alike