Project Part #4 - Prototyping & Evaluation

Throughout class lectures, discussions and activities done, students are expected to have a clear idea of how to design, implement and evaluate a user interface.  In this semester-long project, each group will have to design a particular interactive product/application that interests them. The project may aim to replace or update an established system, or it may aim to develop a totally innovative product with no obvious precedent. The project phases will reflect the stages of interaction design process and will be submitted as project deliverables throughout the semester. 

Process 3: Build interactive versions

Each group will build a high fidelity prototype implementation of your proposed application. Two main prototyping tools are recommended: 1) Invision (login using your @graduate.utm.my account) 2) Adobe XD. Your prototype should be able to handle your three tasks.  You will first evaluate your   prototypes yourselves using the Nielsen’s heuristics, and, secondly by testing the prototypes on at least 3 users.

Build your prototype:

1. Incorporate the design ideas from your Project #3 into the prototype. If you are working on an application, a system or a website, your prototype should include the homepage as a starting point for the user. Similarly, if you are working on an object or device, your prototype should also provide the initial condition of the device as a starting point for the user.
2. Your prototype should be:

High fidelity in look. Lay out screens as you want them to appear in your final implementation. Make choices about colors, fonts, alignment, icons, and so on. Hint: Use design guidelines that we have learned throughout the course.  

Medium fidelity in feel. Your prototype, at a minimum should be able to run on a desktop computer with a mouse and a keyboard.  

Medium fidelity in breadth. Your prototype should be able to show the actual and complete interaction flow of the three (3) tasks (vertical type of compromise – refer to teaching slides). You don’t need to prototype all of the functions, just the ones that are needed for the user to complete the three tasks.

3. Evaluate the prototype you just built by conducting heuristic evaluation using Nielsen’s heuristics. The findings of the evaluation are to be reported as part of Assignment #4. Improve your design accordingly.

Process 4: Evaluating what is being built

Each group will conduct a usability test, and write up the results of the project. The process is described below:

Users

You will test your computer prototypes on at least THREE USERS (1 user from each three user group). If you can’t find an actual representative, find a potential user that is most similar to your user target group. ALL USERS MUST BE 18 YEARS OLD AND ABOVE.

Testing with users and write your report.

Prepare a briefing for test users. This should be at most a page of information about the purpose of your application and any background information about the domain that may be needed by your test users to understand it. These are your notes for the briefing, so make them short, simple and clear, not dense wordy paragraphs. This is not a manual or quick-reference card. It should not describe how to use the interface. You will read this to your test users.