September 18, 2012
Lo-fi Prototyping Assignment
Due: Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 before Class
Objective: In this assignment, you will build on your user research to start visualizing solutions. You will begin by refining your personas. Using these personas as “actors”, you will create three storyboards or scenarios, each depicting a task that your system will support. Finally, you will mock up at least three low-fidelity prototypes of possible solutions you could develop.
What to Do:
- Schedule a group meeting. Most of the tasks described below should be completed during one or two collaborative brainstorming sessions including the entire design team.
- Starting with the personas you made for the last assignment, decide the primary user personas that you are aiming to satisfy. Define each of their primary goals in using your system. Further refine each persona, by providing additional details and/or pictures. By the end, they should be full-featured descriptions that can be used as a reference by the design team. Aim for a total of 3-5 personas, identifying 1 (or 2) of them as the primary focus for your project.
- Starting from the primary persona’s goals, decide three key tasks that your system will support. Tasks are specific sets of actions that will allow users to achieve their goals. These tasks should address a broad set of important user priorities. Using your personas as actors, depict in a scenario how your system would be used to achieve each of these tasks, preferably using a storyboard representation. (Use graphical depictions, even if you can’t draw or sketch! Stick figures are awesome and encouraged!)
- Using paper, index cards, post-its, cardboard, tape, glue and anything else you can imagine, build at least three paper prototype alternatives that can be used to mock “perform” the tasks depicted above. Use the reading for motivation, and again, be creative!
What To Turn In:
The preferred method of turn-in is a PDF document, including each of the following components. To avoid a late penalty, e-mail a link to your group’s submission to the professor and TA before class on Tuesday, October 9th:
- Cover sheet including yourself and your partners’ names, and your chosen focus. Note the time, duration and attendance of each brainstorming session. Include a sentence or two about what each person contributed to the assignment [1/2 page].
- A list of core user personas. Include pictures, demographic details, and any other details that you feel are necessary to make the persona come to life and serve as a useful resource for the design team. [2-3 pages].
- At least three storyboards depicting the tasks that your proposed system will support. These can either be scanned in, and/or composed electronically [2-3 pages].
- Pictures of your low-fidelity prototypes. Bring them in to show during class on October 9th [2-3 pages].
- Reflect on the experience of prototyping. What was easy for you? What was hard? Was it fun? [1/2 page]
The total length of your report should be less than 10 pages. Brevity, clarity and focus on the goals of the assignment will be rewarded. Illustrative graphics are welcome and encouraged!
Please contact the professor or the class TA if you have any questions with this assignment.