Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User Interfaces, Carolyn Snyder, Morgan Kaufmann, 2003, ISBN: 1558608702, pp. 408, companion web site
I've been using paper prototyping as a way of getting high-level usability feedback for some years, but my only guidance in the techniques associated with it have been a few paragraphs here and there in usability books where it received incidental mention. So I welcomed the publication of an entire book devoted to the subject.
Paper prototyping is a method for designing, testing and refining user interfaces. At it's heart is the fabrication of low fidelity interface mock-ups using common office materials such as paper, cardboard, index cards, adhesive tape and glue. To illustrate, the picture at right shows how a tabbed pane can be simulated with a stack of index cards. Users interact with the paper interface, whose content and structure are then manipulated by a human so as to mimic the responses of the actual interface. To indicate a mouse click, the user taps on the prototype. To indicate keyboard entry, they grab a pen and write on the prototype. The method is a little like the storyboarding technique traditionally used in the film industry, turned into a choose your own adventure through the addition of user involvement.
Carolyn Snyder is a usability consultant with 10 years of experience in usability and another 10 as a software engineer and project manager. She draws on her experience in usability engineering to provide case studies throughout the book that illustrate the successful application of paper prototyping.
The basic topics the book covers are:
The book is written in a relaxed and accessible manner, with a strong focus on the pragmatic. The strength of the book is the level of detail it provides in the nitty-gritty of paper prototyping. All activities surrounding and involved with the use of this technique are described in detail, and nothing is left as "an exercise for the reader." The text is refreshingly candid with regards to the limitations of the technique and is more oriented towards description than advocacy.
Those trying to decide if paper prototyping warrants further investigation might like to look at the following article and case study by the same author:
Snyder claims that paper prototyping is quick, cheap and effective as a means of detecting high level usability problems with regard to concepts and terminology, navigation, work flow, screen layout and functionality. Usability problems it will not detect include colour and font selection, responsiveness.
Sadly, there is little in the way of empirical investigation to substantiate these claims, although references to a few supporting studies are included in the text. On the other hand, the technique is simple enough that it will require only a small investment of time and effort to determine the veracity of these claims for yourself, in the context of your own application development.
This book will be particularly useful to those unfamiliar with the process of usability testing (with paper prototypes or otherwise) but perhaps a little tedious for those already experienced in conducting usability trials and interested only in the mechanics that are particular to paper prototyping.
In the near future I will be reviewing a DVD on paper prototyping recently released by Jakob Nielsen