Work over functionality, usability, creativity and proficiency of a prototype to make it wonderful. Here’s how…
A good prototype helps you identify potential concerns and scope in a design. And what does it take to build such a prototype?
While there are many ways to build a prototype, it is important to take care of certain points to make your prototype functional and reliable as close to the final product. This helps you stay on the top of designing so that you can streamline the things and deliver the project timely.
Read Also: Questions a Designer Should Know About a Prototype
To make a great prototype, you need to take care of the points given below.
Test it for Functionality
You are not making a product for yourself. You are making it for clients or people. This is why you should determine if the product will serve the purpose. It is important to assess the possibility of a product beforehand. From the functionality viewpoint, here are the things to keep in mind…
• What issues will it solve?
• Who will use this product?
• What competitive products are already available?
• What features can make it successful?
Make sure to build a clear framework so that team members or stakeholders can understand the intentions and ideas as well.
Read Also: Ways to Improve Design Communication Between Developers, Team Players & Clients
Make it User Friendly
Prototypes also help integrate usability testing into the primary stages of development. As the tests are conducted in the early stages, you don’t need to worry about the issues occurring at the 11th hour of the process. However, great usability or excellent user response doesn’t happen by fluke. To build a product that ensures outstanding usability, make sure to keep user scenarios and user requirements in mind while creating a prototype. So when to run the prototype for usability?
Surprisingly, there is no “best time” to run a usability test. Some do it with their sketch based prototype while some wait it to be converted into high fidelity prototype equipped with animations or interactions.
It Should be Proficient
It is another important step to check your prototype for. This not only improves presentation and communication but also widens your ability to imagine, understand and build multi-dimensional forms. To ensure proficiency in your prototype, make sure to make it user-friendly. Also, check how a user can achieve growth with it. Most experts believe that proficiency comes when the designer uses the quickest and cheapest sources available. Whatever you choose, make sure to approach stakeholders or users for getting their timely feedback. It will help you modify the one that is easy to operate. Plus, it will encourage users to get involved in the process.
Be Creative with its Appearance and Flexibility as well
Creativity can make your product look appealing. However, it shouldn’t be limited only to that. You can use your imagination to improve the behaviour or flexibility of a prototype. Here is a smart way for you! Aim to create a working product so that the stakeholders are ready to pay for it. Further, It doesn’t matter if your product is just for testing, as long as the stakeholders have the feeling that your prototype is valuable. This way, you can execute your creativity to make it more effective, more flexible for better revenue.
Easy to Iterate
Iteration is a cycle of ideating, building, reviewing and tweaking. With this important design methodology, you can improve, review and test your design as you go, rather than creating it in a linear sequence. This process is also known as “spiral prototyping” or “rapid prototyping”. Or you can say that it is the core of the prototyping.
Needless to say, your prototype should facilitate a quick iteration, especially earlier in a lifecycle of a design. An iterative prototype lets you check the designs and helps you avoid pitfalls in the process.
So you must have understood what it takes to make a valuable prototype. Prototyping helps you get a great product design without having to type a single line of coding. However, it is not a straightforward or automated process. It requires a lot of brainstorming and an organized implementation of the ideas on the paper or computer screen. To make the most of your prototype, consider using software or tools like Savah app.
Do you have more wonderful ideas to make an awesome prototype? Drop them straight to the comment boxes given below.
