Design Thinking methods @DESIGN-IT : (12) Paper prototype

And last week of the 12 week series is here. We conclude our design thinking method journey with „Paper prototype„. This method is the first and foremost step after getting to know the project and after having a brainstorming session. By creating low fidelity prototypes on paper or whiteboard you can get a first impression of your concept.

Task: Having pen, paper, glue and scissors or a whiteboard sketch your concept by screens. This should follow the flow of the app and focus on usability in a fast, easy and fun way.

Goal: It is a very inexpensive way to test out a lot of ideas and find the one that suits you the most. It also gives higher flexibility in changing or discarding an idea as opposed to changing the developed click-flow. It is also a great way to gather the team and foster communication and team spirit.

Read our experience below.

In general team members were happy to sit together, whether live or through video conferences and to discuss and draw their ideas. It was a refreshing task for most of them and they liked to discuss, prototype and change steps in their prototype.

„It was enlightening in the sense that it made me realize how a design decision that seemed tremendously trivial and obvious then proved to be inadequate when testing it on paper.“

Some of them shied away from drawing. They also realized that it can get a bit time consuming when it came to improving the initial prototype. Others would have wanted more time to spend on the prototype before presenting their ideas to the team. They had 45 min. at their disposal.

Concluding their remarked that they use this step when discussing usabily and designs of an app.