Flag

We stand with Ukraine and our team members from Ukraine. Here are ways you can help

Home ›› Agile and Iterative Process ›› How Prototyping is Replacing Documentation

How Prototyping is Replacing Documentation

by Ian Schoen
3 min read
Share this post on
Tweet
Share
Post
Share
Email
Print

Save

Prototypes are powerful tools for explaining design decisions to clients and can communicate ideas more effectively that documentation.

Working at a design consultancy, documentation is often the primary deliverable we hand off to clients. When dealing with complex interactions, it’s not uncommon for documents to be over 100 pages long. Drafting these types of deliverables takes serious care, attention to detail, and significant time working at high fidelity in programs like Illustrator and Photoshop.

The big concern is that when designers ship their work to clients, the final documentation doesn’t become the final product regardless of how well it’s crafted.

“Documentation could be overlooked, ignored, or simply out of date by the time it comes to actually implement a feature if we’re working with a very agile development team.”

This is something Jason Frasier, design director at DesignMap, said when he stopped by Tradecraft last year to share his perspectives on prototyping. He discussed how it’s replacing documentation as a UX deliverable, and how we can utilize prototyping in our design process.

Documentation is inflexible. Often, the effort involved keeping things consistent when changes are made can be more challenging than creating the design itself. In all, documentation can’t always meet the evolving needs of a client when they prepare to ship their product and that is problematic.

Prototypes are Powerful

“People don’t read products, they interact with them.”

Creating a prototype as a final deliverable allows for greater interaction with the product and a deeper-level understanding of how the product is experienced. It can also easily be adopted for usability testing and iterated on quickly and efficiently to push out new versions.

Prototyping is also an impactful way to present to your client. People know how to interact with products. Demonstrating interactions with a prototype helps to spark well-informed discussions with clients and can lead to better design more quickly.

Demonstrating interactions with a prototype helps to spark well-informed discussions with clients

When discussing prototyping, it’s important to understand the methods and know when to use them. Jason went over five prototyping techniques that he thought were important to utilize at different parts of the design process.

How to Utilize Prototypes

Here’s Jason’s breakdown of how to use prototypes as you move through the design process.

Paper Prototype
  • Creating rough, hand-drawn sketches of UIs to put in front of users for testing.
  • When to Use: When you want to validate basic design ideas and understand rough interactions before going forward at a higher fidelity.
  • Presentation: Paper cutouts
Vision Prototype
  • Creating a presentation that quickly runs through an interaction at high fidelity.
  • When to use: When you want to wow your client. When it’s more about the polish than the actual experience. If you need to sell an idea.
  • Presentation: Keynote
Click-Through Prototype
  • Creating a set of static wireframe slides and discussing slide interactions.
  • When to use: When working with developers and project managers to demonstrate a linear flow through an experience quickly and efficiently.
  • Presentation: Invision, PDF
Wireframe Prototype
  • Creating a clickable wireframe prototype that can be put in front of users.
  • When to use: When conducting user testing or demonstrating interactions to clients at a higher fidelity.
  • Presentation: InVision
High Fidelity Prototype
  • Creating a prototype that closely resembles the real product.
  • When to use: When your product is nearly ready to ship.
  • Presentation: Web browser, mobile device, InVision.

Conclusion

If you’re a UX designer, knowing how and when to prototype is already a requisite skill. Now, teams are transitioning from documentation to prototypes as final deliverables. Prototyping can make your design process more agile, allow you to express complex interactions elegantly, and present your work to your client in a more dynamic and iterative way. Avoid 100+ page documents and start prototyping.

 

Image of crumpled paper spilling out of wastebasket courtesy Shutterstock.

post authorIan Schoen

Ian Schoen, Ian is inspired to create products that bring people together in new and meaningful ways. He spent the last two years working in Malaysia and Japan through the Fulbright Program and TEDxTokyo and is now back in San Francisco designing experiences at Salesforce.

Tweet
Share
Post
Share
Email
Print

Related Articles

In this article, I’ll share seven incredibly useful design resources that can elevate your skills as a UX designer in 2024 and make you a well-rounded designer overall. These resources not only help you work more efficiently but also automate repetitive tasks and enable you to create outstanding user experiences. So, let’s dive into this without further delay.

Article by Abhi Chatterjee
7 Must-Have Resources for UX Designers in 2024
  • The article explores seven indispensable resources for UX designers in 2024, offering insights into design methodologies, case studies, UX laws, and practical challenges to elevate designers’ skills and efficiency.
Share:7 Must-Have Resources for UX Designers in 2024
3 min read

As consumers’ privacy concerns continue to grow, so should our attention to addressing privacy issues as user experience designers.

Article by Robert Stribley
Designing for Privacy in an Increasingly Public World
  • The article delves into the rising importance of addressing privacy concerns in user experience design, offering insights and best practices for designers and emphasizing the role of client cooperation in safeguarding user privacy.
Share:Designing for Privacy in an Increasingly Public World
9 min read

Navigating the Creative Landscape.

Article by Adri Mukund
Unveiling the Influence of Cognitive Biases on Design Decision-Making
  • The article explores the influence of cognitive biases on design decision-making, outlining various types of biases and offering strategies for mitigating their impact to foster inclusivity and objectivity in design processes.
Share:Unveiling the Influence of Cognitive Biases on Design Decision-Making
6 min read

Did you know UX Magazine hosts the most popular podcast about conversational AI?

Listen to Invisible Machines

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Check our privacy policy and