Prove yourself wrong: prototyping for service design
When done often and thoughtfully, prototyping can help keep teams honest and focused on what users truly want
At Fjord, we design and deliver services that go beyond any one product to incorporate an ecosystem of touchpoints, information, experiences, and environments. To address this complexity, we prototype testing ideas with users and incorporating their feedback strategically throughout the design process, from initial research and discovery to design and delivery. When done often and thoughtfully, prototyping can help keep teams honest and focused on what users truly want. Knowing when, what, and how to test, however, can be a challenge. This article will outline three forms of service prototypes, as well as five principles to follow in the process.
Forms of service prototypes
There are many advantages to building and testing prototypes. They act as powerful tools to facilitate conversations with users and answer questions: Is this idea relevant to you? Is one version better than the other? How does this make you feel?
Sometimes better than direct questioning, prototypes have the unique ability to provoke authentic reactions from users, particularly around sensitive or abstract topics. Behavior around finances, for example, can be difficult to articulate, as what people say they do and what they actually do regarding money are often very different. Using a prototype effectively can garner more accurate data around habits and mindsets.
The creative act of making can also uncover possibilities that couldn’t have been foreseen through other methods. While building to explore how an idea might work, we are able to iterate, refine, and find something new.
Before building and testing, we must determine what questions the prototype hopes to answer. Once we do, these three types of prototypes can be built: Exploratory, Generative and Evaluative
Exploratory prototypes
Exploratory prototypes allow teams to examine a general problem space and are usually employed at the beginning of a project. They are especially beneficial while engaging with users and stakeholders in the field, or when a team needs to gather a lot of information in a short period of time.
Some common examples of exploratory concepts are quick sketches and rough cardboard mock-ups, which teams can use as visual aids for conversations. A Fjord team, working with an energy client, recently used this method to understand where customers went to find trusted information about energy usage. Simple illustrations representing information sources (government, Google, social media, etc.) were drawn on index cards; users were then asked to react, sort the cards and discuss their reasoning. This exploratory prototype allowed the team to gather rich information about users’ beliefs and biases
Generative prototypes
After research has been conducted and an opportunity space established, concepts are brainstormed, and generative prototypes are built. Generative prototypes allow us to collaboratively create a volume of ideas in a divergent way.
The goals of generative prototypes are to invoke an experience, help answer key questions and expand the core idea. It is important to note that generative prototypes do not need to actually function, but rather just represent and communicate key aspects of an experience. Whether digital or physical, these prototypes can be low-fidelity with a simulated backend. Examples might include: a static screen animation that imitates a real digital interaction; a digital model of an interior space that explores traffic flows; team members physically acting out a customer’s experience; or a business model canvas that proposes paths of value.
Evaluative prototypes
Once design concepts have been refined, rigorous testing can help teams focus on specific attributes and features. Evaluative prototyping is conducted in controlled environments, to gauge the performance of a design against predetermined metrics. In order to gather the most accurate data, these prototypes should represent the final service design as much as possible. Participants can know that they are in a simulation, but digital, physical, and spatial touchpoints of the experience should feel real. Teams can test specific touchpoints individually in order to methodically move towards validating the full end-to-end experience.
5 service prototyping principles
- Take action
Prototyping forces us to get out of the studio and into the world to get reactions from real people. Those interactions provide more feedback than hours of talking. Do it early and often, and document it.
2. Be intentional
Prototyping should always be in service of answering a question, even if the question is broad. Identify the idea and the key question to answer before making begins. Define and prepare a test plan.
3. Craft playfully
Even when being focused and intentional, there is always room for creativity and whimsy. Think of non-traditional approaches and try unexpected materials. Get your team and the testing audience engaged in the content.
4. Be scientific
Always be conscious of the information you are trying to gather through prototyping and measure the results. Restrict the number of variables within a test to be sure your findings are accurate. Create decision gates and stick to them.
5. Stay flexible
Time with users is valuable, but tests don’t always go as expected. Participants can be great, but they can also be late, disengaged or difficult. Be ready to shift in the moment to get the information your team needs.
Now go get making!
