Prototyping is an essential component of your design process. It helps you turn your imagination into a tangible design that can be observed by real users to test your hypothesis. In simple words, it is a model of an idea that you can present to your users to get feedback. Your prototype could be a finished product, which is referred to as a hi-fi prototype. Or it could be just a simple combination of sketches, which is known as the lo-fi prototype. Prototyping is extremely important in designing as the designer cannot just explain his ideas for his UX/UI verbally to its team and other stakeholders. A prototype helps you solve that dilemma by providing an early design to all the stakeholders who can then provide their feedback accordingly. It also saves you a lot of time and money because now you will have the information that will help you alter your design to make it a success. For example: When you already have a concept for your website, you will not have to spend days on a new layout as you can continue right from there and can start applying the change. Let’s have a detailed look at why prototyping is important for your users.
Allows Stakeholders to Identify the Issues
Prototyping allows the users and other parties involved to identify the initial issues and shortcomings of the design. A prototype is made after keeping a target audience in mind, and the same demographics later provide you with feedback, letting you know what works for them and what does not. And that is not all. You get to receive feedback at every stage of the design process, which helps you provide the perfect user experience for the final product.
Saves Cost and Time
UX Prototyping helps both you and the stakeholders save money and time in the long run. Knowing what works for your target audience allows you to build you a design that is streamlined and easy to navigate through. This not only improves your retention rate but also allows you to provide your users value for their money. It also saves you a lot of time, which you would be spending on reworks and edits. Adobe experts agree that “Prototyping allows product teams to explore and validate ideas before investing too many resources in building an actual product.”
Makes Room for Innovation
The process of prototyping also allows you to unearth problems for which you cannot provide a direct solution to your users. It is not always possible to give the users what they want, as it may not be technically possible or efficient for you and your company. This pushes you to think out of the box and come up with innovations that will satisfy your users completely by providing them something even better.
User Become Part of Development Process
Prototyping allows users to become a part of the development process. This allows you to engage in direct discussions with the people for whom the design is being built. You are constantly providing them with the possible options, and they are testing whether it is convenient for them or not. This allows you to create a design that makes each individual of your target audience feel like it was specifically built for them.
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Founder Dinis Guarda
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