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7 Essential UI Prototyping

This document discusses user interface (UI) prototyping. It explains that essential UI prototyping represents general ideas and requirements for the UI rather than implementation details. The focus is on understanding users and involving stakeholders through paper exercises like sticky notes. Major and minor UI elements are modeled to explore usability. Screen sketches then provide more detail and concrete prototypes move closer to design. The goal is to capture requirements and get feedback to inform design across the system.

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Ojomojo jhuoh
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297 views16 pages

7 Essential UI Prototyping

This document discusses user interface (UI) prototyping. It explains that essential UI prototyping represents general ideas and requirements for the UI rather than implementation details. The focus is on understanding users and involving stakeholders through paper exercises like sticky notes. Major and minor UI elements are modeled to explore usability. Screen sketches then provide more detail and concrete prototypes move closer to design. The goal is to capture requirements and get feedback to inform design across the system.

Uploaded by

Ojomojo jhuoh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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User Interface Prototyping

1. Essential UI Prototyping
• represents general ideas behind the UI

• not exact details

• represents UI requirements

• what needs to happen

• rather than how it will be implemented or with which


technology (both are design decisions)

• a launchpad for subsequent prototyping and design

• at this point we are still trying to understand the problem,


before we move on to solve it
1. Essential UI Prototyping
• focus is on users and their usage of the system

• integrates well with use case modelling

• is done as a paper exercise

• can use flip charts, sticky notes

• avoids narrowing the design space to whatever development


or prototyping tools you use

• quick and easy to explore - and discard ideas

• really easy to involve stakeholders


Creating an Essential UI
Prototype
• Explore system usage

• Model major UI elements

• Model minor UI elements

• Explore the usability of your UI


Explore System Usage
• what happens during the use case(s):

• information provided by the system

• information input by the user

• actions taken by the user


Model UI Elements
• Major Elements:

• such as screens (or main sections of an interface)

• name them: e.g. “Course Enrolment UI”

• Minor Elements:

• such as input fields, lists and action items

• just placeholders for now


Explore Usability
• clear?

• consistent?

• learnable?

• easy to remember?

• achievable?
Example Essential UI Prototype

pink input fields

yellow info only

blue action items

from The Object Primer (Ambler 2004, 2009)


From requirements gathering
into analysis...
2. The Prototyping Process

[finished]
Determine Build Evaluate
Needs Prototype Prototype

[continue]

from The Object Primer (Ambler 2004, 2009)


Screen Sketches

from The Object Primer (Ambler 2004, 2009)


Screen Sketches
• provide finer detail

• give a better idea of how UI will be implemented

• can still easily involve stakeholders in their creation


Concrete Prototypes

from The Object Primer (Ambler 2004, 2009)


Concrete Prototypes
• hand-coded or using prototyping tools

• moving closer to design

• good if we are ready to solve the problem

• but might be harder to involve stakeholders in their


creation and exploration
To conclude
• don’t need to prototype entire system

• do enough to allow you to:


• capture and represent requirements in key areas

• move onto design across the whole system

• explain your UI ideas to others

• don’t shy away from known requirements


• if it has to use a stand-alone GUI, don’t waste time or struggle trying to be too general

• ask:
• what’s good?

• what’s bad?

• what’s missing?
References & Recommended
• this presentation was adapted from Scott W. Ambler’s
online guides to prototyping:

• http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/essentialUI.htm

• http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/uiPrototype.htm

• those guides and figures used here were derived from:

• Chapter 6 of The Object Primer, Cambridge University Press,


2004 ISBN#: 0-521-54018-6

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