Name of Method
Brief description
Type/Level of Method
Challenges
Problem, Purpose and Needs
When you have an idea for how to solve a problem with a service, product, or other design, it may be helpful to deploy an experience prototype. Experience prototypes are simple, but tangible and interactive representations of your idea. They enable you to:
Explore and gain insight into existing user experiences and contexts.
Explore and evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of your design ideas
Communicate ideas to an audience. (Buchenau, 2000).
In order to develop and deploy an experience prototype you do not, necessarily, need a lot of resources. The key is to think creatively about the necessary components to enable an experience similar or identical to the one you intend to develop/deliver. This can be a similar but simplified and/or lower fidelity experience to the one your idea is intended to offer. For example, if you want to test a digital service—like an app—you might want to try testing the basic idea on paper first with users to see if the general idea works, if users have contextual needs or nuances you need to account for, or if the service is completely unaligned with their needs. Alternatively, you can run a more high fidelity prototype if this is necessary to test the core components of the idea. In either case, the insight you gain will enable you to iterate and design more effective and useful tools.
Relevance to Climate Neutrality
Challenges
Thematic Areas
Impact Goals
Issue Complexity
Issue Polarisation
Enabling Condition
Essential Considerations for Commissioning Authorities
This tool is extremely useful for experimentation, prototyping, and iteration.
Engagement Journey
Governance Models and Approaches
Enabling Conditions
Democratic Purpose
Spectrum of participation
Communication Channels
Actors and Stakeholder Relationships
The activity can be run by an individual or a transition team, but it is essential to run experience prototypes with intended users.
Participant Numbers
Actors and Stakeholders
Participant Recruitment
Interaction between participants
Format
Social Innovation Development Stage
Scope
Time commitment
An experience prototype can vary in terms of the amount of time you may need to commit. If you already have an idea and need to test a simple, low-fidelity version, than it may take a 1-3 hours to create the prototype and 3-5 hours to test it with users. If, however, you don’t have an initial idea yet, or need to create a more high-fidelity prototype, than the process may take multiple weeks or months. This is why it is extremely helpful to test low-fidelity experience prototypes first, so you can rapidly put a tangible, but simple version of the idea in front of users to get their feedback before investing a lot of time into the development process. Keep early prototypes quick and scrappy.
Resources and Investments
Typical duration
Resources and Investments
In-house
Step by Step
Develop an initial service, tool, or product idea based on the identification of a challenge, an opportunity, and an ideation process (see How Might We questions)
Consider the key attributes or components of the idea that offer a response to the challenge or opportunity. Keep in mind that many products offer lots of intuitive and beautiful elements, but their core functionality comes down to a few simple interactions. These core interactions are the ones you want to test.
Consider which mediums are the most fit for purpose to test the idea. It is important to keep in mind that not all mediums will offer an equal ability to test the core functionality or interactions of our idea, so try to be intentional about why you are choosing a specific medium to represent your idea. You might choose to represent and test your idea with a physical prototype, immersive space/installation, immersive theatre, storyboard, scenario, sketch, video, etc. “all of which certainly add value by communicating elements that make up an experience.” (Buchenau, 2000).
Evaluation
Usability testing with intended users is an important way to gauge whether your idea effectively responds to the challenge or opportunity at hand.
Connecting Methods
How Might We questions, Usability Testing.
Flexibility and Adaptability
Which mediums you use to represent your idea, and thereby prototype the experience of engaging with your prospective service, tool, product, etc., is flexible. However, it is important to be intentional about why you choose to use the medium(s) you do.
Existing Guidelines and Best Practice
References and Further Resources
Nyffeler, Chris. “Why Everyone Should Prototype (Not Just Designers).” Why Everyone Should Prototype (Not Just Designers). IDEO U, May 3, 2019. https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/why-everyone-should-prototype-not-just-designers.
Buchenau, Marion, and Jane Fulton Suri. “Experience Prototyping.” Proceedings of the conference on Designing interactive systems processes, practices, methods, and techniques - DIS '00, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1145/347642.347802.
Wikström, Jonas. “Experience Prototyping.” Medium. Apegroup - Behind the Screens, December 21, 2015. https://medium.com/apegroup-texts/experience-prototyping-is-a-great-methodology-when-looking-into-a-context-885cb27aca52.
Kelley, Tom, and David Kelley. “How to Build a Prototype in One Hour.” Slate Magazine. Slate, October 23, 2013. https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/10/the-importance-of-prototyping-creative-confidence-by-tom-and-david-kelley.html.
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