UX IRL Ep. 12: Prototyping (+ Design Challenges)
Hello! Here are our show notes for episode 12 of UX IRL: Prototyping (+ Design Challenges). We hit the highlights in this article, but get the full context by listening to the episode:
For our main episode we talk about prototyping and how you can apply it outside of work! For our mini-sode on career goals, we discuss design challenges. We’d love to hear how you’ve used prototyping outside of work and we’d also love to hear any tips or best practices about design challenges. Comment below or reply on Twitter @uxinreallife or on Instagram @ux.inreallife.
Importance of prototyping
Prototyping is a great way to test things out at any stage of the design process. Your prototypes don’t need to be done in high-fidelity and at the end stage before you finalize designs for implementation.
When you work in a lower fidelity, you can focus on testing the interactions to get a feel for them, as well as the flow. It’s also a nice way to test out a lightweight version before fully committing to or scaling things. Prototyping works for both design and design operations work!
UX IRL Takeaway: Prototyping can happen at any stage and the earlier the better. It can work out a lot of hiccups before getting to those final stages of the design process.
How we’ve used prototyping at work
Mary Fran has used wireframes for prototypes and recommends having a lo-fi kit to work from. It helps set the expectation that you’re still in a testing and iterating phase.
While Figma and InVision are great tools and have some cool ways of animating things, sometimes it can be hard to “wire up” to get the right interaction you’re looking for. Other tools like Miro or Figjam might be better if you’re trying to simulate drag and drop interactions — where you’re using the capabilities of the tool to mimic the interaction your flow would have.
Prototypes aren’t always about the UI design. They can also be a way to test out categories or navigation. Tools like Trello or Optimalsort are good options for that.
Prototypes don’t need to be with standard tools and you can get really creative. We’ve seen times where prototypes are just sending text messages back and forth with the user. Similarly, people have prototyped chatbot conversations. Someone would hold up a cardboard frame to simulate a window and they would roleplay as the chatbot while the user would have a conversation with it.
We also enjoy paper prototyping, but cutting up all the pieces can be a lot of work. And this isn’t that feasible during COVID.
Prototypes can also be a great way to test out processes and tools for DesignOps. We often will try small-scale pilots to get feedback from the team before implementing things at scale. For example, Michelle piloted story pointing with a smaller design team before scaling across the org. This allowed the team to figure out any hiccups before engaging everyone.
UX IRL Takeaway: Prototypes are great at any stage of design. Prototypes don’t have to be made from traditional tools, definitely get creative with them!
Prototyping outside of work
Prototyping is something valuable we can do in our day-to-day life outside of work. Michelle’s used prototyping as a way to vet a solution before purchasing things. She’s also used prototyping for stairs she built for her cat. Creating a prototype out of cardboard allowed her to figure out sizing and methods before committing to it with real wood. It gave her the flexibility to learn, make mistakes, and tweak dimensions.
Mary Fran is looking to add prototyping into her life outside of work with home improvement projects. For example, she’s never tried grouting tile, so testing it out on a smaller scale will help her practice and get a sense for what needs to be done for the real project.
Prototypes IRL allow you to work out any hiccups, so you can feel confident in what you finally commit to.
UX IRL Takeaway: Try prototyping outside of work as a way to get comfortable with your ideas, skills, and solutions. Working out the hiccups can go a long way!
How to prototype outside of work
When trying to prototype, think about the problem you’re trying to solve. It’s easy to think about the solution (since it’s often something you need to buy). So really intentionally think about the problem you’re trying to solve.
From there, assemble your prototype and try it out for a week or two to see how well it’s working. Just like design thinking for work, get feedback and iterate to see if you can come up with a solution that solves your problem.
If you’re interested in prototyping IRL, Michelle’s really enjoyed watching YouTube videos by Adam Savage (from Mythbusters). He has a lot of videos on one-day builds, tips and tricks, and favorite tools. Watching his process has been inspirational for Michelle in trying to make her own things. Michelle also recommends searching “DIY” and the thing you’re interested in making. You might find some ideas for making your own prototype.
UX IRL Takeaway: Focus on identifying the problem you’re trying to solve, rather than jumping to the solution.
Mini-sode: Design Challenges
This is specific if your goal is looking for a new job this year. We wanted to highlight it, since it’s a big part of the interview process for most people in the UX field.
Typically companies have candidates work through a design challenge. They can take many different forms, but typically you’re assigned a prompt to solve and are given time to solve it. Afterwards, you get to present your work with a broader team and answer questions about it.
It’s a great way to see a candidate’s thought process. For candidates, it’s a great way to show how you work through solutions and an opportunity to show your presentation style. It’s also helpful to demonstrate how well you handle feedback, since you’re often presenting these to potential future teammates.
UX IRL Takeaway: Design challenges can feel intimidating, but it’s really a great exercise to share how you approach solutions.
What kind of design challenges are there?
There are a lot of different types of design challenges, including:
- Whiteboard challenges (typically on-site)
- Roleplaying — where the hiring team acts as stakeholders
- Take home assignments
- Real-time remote — you’re given a time period to work through the challenge and present it right after virtually
- Heuristic evaluations
- Realistic challenges (e.g., design a flow that helps people deposit checks with their mobile app)
- Fictional, hypothetical challenges (e.g., design an ATM for parakeets)
Tips on design challenges
Your recruiter is your friend — they want to make sure you’re set up for success. So it’s ok to ask them questions about the design challenge. They won’t be able to tell you the prompt, but they can answer questions such as what tools you can use, how much time you have, and more.
If you’re doing design work for the actual product you’d potentially be working on, then you should be paid for that engagement. It’s not fair to you that they get you to do the work they need for free. If they’re unwilling to compensate you or get weird about it, it’s probably a sign that this isn’t a great place to work.
UX IRL Takeaway: Design challenges can take many shapes and forms, so definitely ask the recruiter for as much context as you need so you can be set up for success.
How to approach design challenges?
The best way to approach design challenges is to practice them! Interviewing is stressful enough and designing with a time constraint can add to that. Avoid that by practicing to be confident with this phase of the interview process.
We recommend Artiom Dashinsky’s book Solving Product Design Exercises, which covers everything you want to know about design challenges and more! He has several exercises you can try and includes solutions so you can gut check your approach.
As you practice, come up with a framework to work from, so you can be well-paced within the given time constraint. Michelle witnessed dozens of design challenges as a hiring manager and she noticed that those that have a framework really excel at the challenge.
It’s also important to practice the logistics of the design challenge. For example, if you’re sketching on paper, go through the motions of taking pics with your phone, uploading them to your computer, and presenting those images. Working out that flow can help you identify potential hiccups and that might otherwise throw you offyour game.
UX IRL Takeaway: Have a framework for solving challenges and practice as much as possible, so you feel confident with this interview round.
Resources for design challenges
To learn more, check out some of these resources:
- Solving Product Design Exercises by Artiom Dashinsky
- Sample exercises from Artiom Dashinsky
- Sharpen.design — they have several different prompts for areas including branding, marketing, and product
- Designercize.com — most of these are around UI design, but there are other broader challenges. Most interview design challenges won’t be around actual UI design. Instead they’ll be around the probably solving approach for UX.
Search Medium.com for “design challenges” and you’ll have a few great articles on how to approach them. Here are a few:
- Working Through Design Challenges in Product Design Job Interviews by Tanner Christensen
- A Concise Guide to Onsite Design Challenges by Tiffany Eaton
- A Guide to Design Challenges for Product & Visual Design by Luke Jones
Lastly, feel free to review your design challenge solutions with friends or mentors for feedback. If you don’t have anyone you can immediately reach out to, virtual UX communities are a great place to get feedback. When asking for feedback, be as specific as possible so they can help provide the right kind of feedback.
UX IRL Takeaway: While there are lots of resources out there, tailor a framework in a way that works best for you!
We’d love to hear from you!
If you have questions about prototyping, design challenges, or any of our previous episodes, please reach out to us! If you have topics you’d like to hear us cover, let us know.
