The question of the prototype
Week 6, Interaction Design Methods
Prototypes can be divided into two aspects, prototype as filter and prototype as manifestation.
FILTER PROTOTYPE
In filter prototyping one focuses on as few dimensions as possible, so that these dimensions are perfectly fulfilled. Different prototypes will be created covering the different dimensions. It is therefore not possible to make a full usability test because all dimensions are never covered.
A filter prototype has 5 different dimensions:
Appearance
In appearance there are visual ones but characteristics are part of it as well.
eg. form, color, texture, size, weight, shape, haptic, sound
Data
The data is the information architecture of a prototype. It can be a visible or invisible.
eg. size, hierarchy, organization
Functionality
In functionality you look at the functions which can be performed with this prototype.
eg. user needs
Interactivity
The interactivity dimension is the ways in which people interact with each part of a system.
eg. feedback behavior, information behavior, input / output behavior
Spatial Structure
In spacial structure you look how each component of a system is combined with others.
interface, two- or three-dimensional, intangible or tangible
MANIFESTATION PROTOTYPE
In the manifestation prototyping ideas are moved out into the real world and tested with a prototype. They don’t have to correspond to the final product, but should have the same behavior.
Their manifestation is driven by three dimensions, the material, the resolution and the scope.
The material refers to the medium from which the prototype is formed. It can be a physical or a virtual material. A physical material can be paper, wood, metal or plastic. The material of the prototype don’t have to be the same material as the final product, it just has to serve the purpose of it. Tools are part of the materials, they can also be physical or virtual, such as a pair of scissors or a computer. It is really important to know which material is the best suitable for a prototype.
A good example is a colored wall in a virtual model on a computer and a colored three-dimensional life-sized foam-board model in a physical space. The user experience is completely different for the people due the materials which are used.
The resolution is the level of detail in a prototype. These details can be how far a prototype is developed, or how rich a database is. There is a big difference whether you have a study with thousands of samples or one with few random samples.
The feedback time is an example of a resolution where the prototype is tested, processed and then improved. The more detailed the prototype, the longer it takes to process and improve it. The resolution should only contains the essential aspects of a prototype.
In the scope it is defined what is covered to be manifested. The constraints, environment and the context are really important.
Sonjoi Nielsen, 15.04.2019
Interaction Design, Zurich University of Arts
Sources:
Youn-Kyung Lim & Erik Stolterman (2008)
The Anatomy of Prototypes: Prototypes as Filters, Prototypes as Manifestations of Design Ideas, University of Washington
Jaap Scheeren (2013)
Machines for Living- The Wire 348
p. 29–35
Gordon Pask (1968)
A comment, a case history and a plan Cybernetics, Art and Ideas p. 76–99,
