"The ways that we talk, and even think about prototypes, can get in the way of their effective use."
I chose this quote because it relates so much to what we are doing in our Studio 1 class projects. When we were making our low and mid-fidelity prototypes we tried to make it as easy to use as possible with our understanding of it instead of real-life scenarios. This is why prototype testing is so important, it allows us to find the gaps in what we are so well-versed in. We know the prototypes in and out, but their effectiveness can only be found through testing. I remember talking with my group about our prototype and I had so many random ideas of “cool features” to throw in, but in reality, I needed to step back and think about the usability overall.
"Making separate prototypes enabled specific design questions to be addressed with as much clarity as possible."
I chose this quote because we also went through each stage of prototype testing for our Studio 1 class. We began with a physical demonstration of our product using literal cardboard and paper. This showed us superficial issues with our product that were handled in our mid-fidelity testing. Now that we have a digitized version of our product, we are looking for specific issues with the text, usability, icons, and larger issues with navigation. This step leads us into what will be our high-fidelity testing with a fully functioning product that testers can look through and provide final input as to creating the perfect product.
“One issue with prototypes like this one is that inexperienced audiences tend to believe them to be more functional than they are just by virtue of being shown on a computer screen.”
I chose this quote because it opened my eyes to the reality of what we found when doing our digital prototype testing. We asked designers who have never interacted with our product what they thought and got very design-specific answers which was fantastic, but having new people look at a product for the first time it seemed like they were able to click through everything easily. After going back and looking at the testing we did, I noticed people got lost super fast and just kept clicking while we assumed they knew where they were going because we did. With this in mind, it makes me think if it would be great to have the same people test more than once to see if the functionality makes more sense or changes at all.