The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas Export

@article{citeulike:3315205, abstract = {The role of prototypes is well established in the field of HCI and Design. A lack of knowledge, however, about the fundamental nature of prototypes still exists. Researchers have attempted to identify different types of prototypes, such as low- vs. high-fidelity prototypes, but these attempts have centered on evaluation rather than support of design exploration. There have also been efforts to provide new ways of thinking about the activity of using prototypes, such as experience prototyping and paper prototyping, but these efforts do not provide a discourse for understanding fundamental characteristics of prototypes. In this article, we propose an anatomy of prototypes as a framework for prototype conceptualization. We view prototypes not only in their role in evaluation but also in their generative role in enabling designers to reflect on their design activities in exploring a design space. We base this framework on the findings of two case studies that reveal two key dimensions: prototypes as filters and prototypes as manifestations. We explain why these two dimensions are important and how this conceptual framework can benefit our field by establishing more solid and systematic knowledge about prototypes and prototyping.}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, author = {Lim, Youn K. and Stolterman, Erik and Tenenberg, Josh}, citeulike-article-id = {3315205}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1375761.1375762}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1375761.1375762}, comment = {Lim -- practical example of actually doing evaluation plus some interesting framework... Lim et al. focuse on the role prototypes as a tool to explore design space - a set of potential solutions and associated tradeoffs - whereas Edwards et al. view prototype as a tool to identify user- centered requirements for infrastructure. This difference in their focus results in the differences in how they use prototypes and what aspects on which they focus on. Fundamental prototyping principle: - Prototyping is an activity with the purpose of creating a manifestation that, in its simplest form, filters the qualities in which designers are interested, without distorting the understanding of the whole. DIMENSIONS: - Appearance: size; color; shape; margin; form; weight; texture; proportion; hardness; transparency; gradation; haptic; sound - Data: data size; data type (e.g., number; string; media); data use; privacy type; hierarchy; organization - Functionality: system function; users' functionality need - Interactivity: input behavior; output behavior; feedback behavior; information behavior - Spatial structure: arrangement of interface or information elements; relationship among interface or information elements—which can be either two- or three-dimensional, intangible or tangible, or mixed MANIFESTS in terms of material; resolution; scope Economic principle of prototyping: - The best prototype is one that, in the simplest and the most efficient way, makes the possibilities and limitations of a design idea visible and measurable. Anatomy of prototypes: - Prototypes are filters that traverse a design space and are manifestations of design ideas that concretize and externalize conceptual ideas. WHY IS THIS RELEVANT to today's topics (tools and evaluation)? }, doi = {10.1145/1375761.1375762}, issn = {1073-0516}, journal = {ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.}, keywords = {design, evaluation, physical, tangible}, number = {2}, pages = {1--27}, posted-at = {2009-03-22 00:39:22}, priority = {2}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1375761.1375762}, volume = {15}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3315205 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3315205 N2 - The role of prototypes is well established in the field of HCI and Design. A lack of knowledge, however, about the fundamental nature of prototypes still exists. Researchers have attempted to identify different types of prototypes, such as low- vs. high-fidelity prototypes, but these attempts have centered on evaluation rather than support of design exploration. There have also been efforts to provide new ways of thinking about the activity of using prototypes, such as experience prototyping and paper prototyping, but these efforts do not provide a discourse for understanding fundamental characteristics of prototypes. In this article, we propose an anatomy of prototypes as a framework for prototype conceptualization. We view prototypes not only in their role in evaluation but also in their generative role in enabling designers to reflect on their design activities in exploring a design space. We base this framework on the findings of two case studies that reveal two key dimensions: prototypes as filters and prototypes as manifestations. We explain why these two dimensions are important and how this conceptual framework can benefit our field by establishing more solid and systematic knowledge about prototypes and prototyping. IS - 2 JF - ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. SN - 1073-0516 AD - New York, NY, USA EP - 27 TI - The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas PB - ACM VL - 15 SP - 1 KW - design KW - evaluation KW - physical KW - tangible N1 - Lim -- practical example of actually doing evaluation plus some interesting framework... Lim et al. focuse on the role prototypes as a tool to explore design space - a set of potential solutions and associated tradeoffs - whereas Edwards et al. view prototype as a tool to identify user- centered requirements for infrastructure. This difference in their focus results in the differences in how they use prototypes and what aspects on which they focus on. Fundamental prototyping principle: - Prototyping is an activity with the purpose of creating a manifestation that, in its simplest form, filters the qualities in which designers are interested, without distorting the understanding of the whole. DIMENSIONS: - Appearance: size; color; shape; margin; form; weight; texture; proportion; hardness; transparency; gradation; haptic; sound - Data: data size; data type (e.g., number; string; media); data use; privacy type; hierarchy; organization - Functionality: system function; users’ functionality need - Interactivity: input behavior; output behavior; feedback behavior; information behavior - Spatial structure: arrangement of interface or information elements; relationship among interface or information elements—which can be either two- or three-dimensional, intangible or tangible, or mixed MANIFESTS in terms of material; resolution; scope Economic principle of prototyping: - The best prototype is one that, in the simplest and the most efficient way, makes the possibilities and limitations of a design idea visible and measurable. Anatomy of prototypes: - Prototypes are filters that traverse a design space and are manifestations of design ideas that concretize and externalize conceptual ideas. WHY IS THIS RELEVANT to today's topics (tools and evaluation)? AU - Lim, Youn AU - Stolterman, Erik AU - Tenenberg, Josh PY - 2008/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1375761.1375762 ER -