On 9/19/08, Todd Moy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Right now, my instinct is to prototype (html wireframes) the cases > that I expect people to use--with the knowledge that most of the site > won't be available. The test scenarios, then, would be a bit more > directed than usual. I also suspect that I wouldn't be able to do much > in the way of passionate task testing. > > Has anyone had experience doing medium-fidelity testing like > this...and could share some tips or resources?
Not to get into the whole "appropriate level of fidelity" argument again, but in my experience it is *very* important to prototype these sorts of interactions in the context in which they'll be used, i.e., a Web browser. The reason this is important is that it's the best way to get truly accurate information about how your user group(s) respond to that particular interaction. To address the issue Itamar brings up about fidelity, the interactive prototype can *look* like a crappy, half-thought-out wireframe, but the interactions must be there. If you're really really early in the design process and have easy access to users, then a quick paper prototype test like what Jared described would be useful too. So your instinct is a good one. : ) The other important thing you mentioned is prototyping "common scenarios," which is right on. Prototyping is all about faking stuff. Smoke and mirrors. Present your users with a realistic task they'd need to use the system to complete, prototype the "happy path(s)" (and if you have time one or two unhappy paths), and use your facilitation skills during testing if people go down the "wrong" path to find out why, etc. If you're coding straight HTML, this type of interactive prototyping is way more time intensive than paper, but there are prototyping tools available that can help this go a lot quicker. My weapon of choice is Axure, and you will find a ton about it in the list archives. Take care, F. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred Beecher Sr. User Experience Consultant Evantage Consulting O: 612.230.3838 // M: 612.810.6745 IM: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (google/msn) // fredevc (aim/yahoo) T: http://twitter.com/fred_beecher ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
