Prototyping for Designers

[ Preface ]

There seem to be hundreds of new smart objects and apps reaching the market every day. With all of this competition, how do you know that your idea will be influential and that people will buy it? If you’re familiar with business, you’ve done some market research and found a viable sector. Or you’re working with a team that has an idea and is rushing toward a minimum viable product (MVP). But how can you truly know that your ideal customer will benefit from your new product or app? And how do you know that your team is pursuing the right solution?

Prototyping and user testing is the best way to make valuable products that are impactful for your users. By creating incrementally better prototypes throughout your process, you can get valuable feedback to improve your product. Instead of merely trusting your gut with its assumptions and hidden biases, you can engage with real people to observe how they interact with your prototypes. Through this direct interaction, you’ll understand exactly where your users get stuck, what they have trouble grasping, and their visceral reaction to the entire experience. Prototyping is a key to developing a good experience that meets the needs of the end user.

The goal of this book is to give you a foundational education in the topic, providing current examples of companies that prototype, along with best practices and tried-and-true processes. I want to inspire you not only to prototype, but to develop a habit of prototyping. You’ll learn ...