This highly iterative process allows a design to be quickly reviewed, commented on, or validated, by team members or by a client throughout the prototyping effort.
Design changes or corrections can be made early on at less effort and expense, and the features incorporated in the best tools, together with following the best practices, make it an easier task to deliver a high quality product in a shorter amount of time.
Three Best Practices to Follow
- Collaborate – Rapid prototyping is an extremely effective design approach when mockups can be readily shared, giving stakeholders the opportunity to conduct a quick review and provide feedback. The importance of collaboration is in fact one of the principal reasons for choosing this teambuilding approach. If a stakeholder suggests a small change, it can usually be incorporated quickly and easily, and if a design error is spotted, it can be often corrected on the spot.
- Test the Prototype – Test your prototype early on to uncover design errors or omissions that could otherwise be expensive and time consuming to correct later in the design and development stages. Initial testing normally consists of peer reviews. You will also want to test your mockup on actual devices to refine the design and ensure proper performance, and conduct tests with real people to validate usability. Test for usability throughout.
- Use Real Content – Treat content as a key design element, and introduce it as early into your prototype as possible. Real content gives a mockup more meaning, whereas placeholder copy or “Lorem ipsum” does nothing beyond saying “content will be located in this space”. If a mockup is to truly emulate the real thing when being tested or reviewed, using real content takes on added importance.
The Best Tools
Each of these five prototyping tools has its individual strengths and its individual set of features. Which one you choose should of course provide a match to your needs and requirements.
At least one of these tools should serve you well:
Proto.io
Proto.io is a web-based application that is uniquely suited for designing and prototyping mobile apps. Its many features include built-in component libraries that make it possible to create prototypes that will have the exact look and feel of a real app. Gestures and transitions are well-supported and include touch, tap, tap hold, swipe, pinch, and pan.
Proto.io’s large library of built-in UI elements, including icons and ad banner sizes, supports iOS, Android, and Windows mobile applications, and you can add your own design assets should the need arise. More importantly, you can create extremely realistic prototypes without having to rely on any coding whatsoever.
Proto.io has a large user base that includes a number of large companies that have used this tool to create realistic prototypes before investing resources in app development projects. As an individual, or as a member of a team of app designers and developers, you will find this tool is a time and money saver, and a tool that gives you the ability to create better apps for less.
Pidoco
Visit the Pidoco website and view a brief demonstration of how easy this prototyping tool is to work with, and how quickly an interactive wireframe mockup can be created.
Not only are fully functional wireframes easy to create, but this tool’s collaboration features makes sharing of prototypes and their associated information a snap as well. Features include prototype version control, issue tracking, comment collection, and screen editing provisions.
Pidoco makes test-driving a prototype on a web browser or on an iOS or Android device a simple task. Mockups can be run directly on a device without the need to download or install code. A library of more than 400 interactive elements and icons is at your fingertips, and mouse, keyboard, and touch gestures are supported.
InVision
Rightly described as the world’s most powerful design prototyping tool, InVision makes it easy to transform static screens into clickable, interactive prototypes—not a single line of code needed.
Easily share prototypes for collaborative purposes by sending links to team members or clients. Or, if real-time collaboration is more your style, take advantage of InVision’s LiveShare presentation tool. Prototyping, especially rapid prototyping, is a highly iterative process, but communication bottlenecks can easily slow a project down.
This tool not only avoids unnecessary bottlenecks, but it keeps the status of a project up to date for all participants to see by creating to-do lists from feedback and maintaining version control. This combination prototyping/project management tool will make an ideal addition to your design toolkit—it already is for nearly one million other designers.
HotGloo
HotGloo is a UX, wireframe, and prototyping tool that promotes co-simultaneous design workflow. Instead of sending the latest revisions to team members or clients for review and feedback, this web-based tool enables real-time collaboration and enhanced interactivity among stakeholders. It was developed with intuitive usability in mind.
Its low learning curve makes prototyping a snap whether you are creating a wireframe mockup for an app or for a large and complex eCommerce store. As you would expect in a professional prototyping tool, HotGloo is constantly being updated and improved upon.
PowerMockup
PowerMockup is a Microsoft PowerPoint add-on. This tool provides an easy means of sketching mockups for both apps and websites with only a few clicks. One of the main advantages PowerMockup brings to the table is its ease of use with PowerPoint.
Since many app and website designers have PowerPoint and know how to use it, having a tool like PowerMockup which capitalizes on PowerPoint’s powerful features, including animation and slideshow, is a definite asset. A trial version can be downloaded from the website.
Final Thoughts
Prototyping can get a project off to a quick start, but that is not its only benefit. It is a time and money saver in that it makes resolving design issues or correcting errors or omissions much easier than is usually possible during the actual design and development stages of an app or a website.
It can also be a great team builder, in that many of the best tools feature excellent collaboration and project management capabilities. Prototyping also encourages feedback and constructive criticism. With the right prototyping tools at your fingertips, and by following best practice guidelines – you and your team will do well.
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