ID/LXD, meet UXD Part 3: Prototyping

Usually, when I’m designing a learning experience that has no precedent, something that’s completely different from anything I’ve seen or designed before, I have a grand vision in my head of what the experience will be like for the learner. The problem with my grand visions is similar to the common phenomenon in dreams where you can’t see people’s faces. No matter how hard I squint my mind’s eye, I can’t see the details of every user interaction; I mostly have a high level picture, and more importantly, a sense or feeling of how the experience will play out.

While it’s important to have the sense or feeling that you want your learners to experience, the details do become critical at some point (like when a question from the developer prompts you to think for the first time “Hmmm, what DO I want that button to be called?).
Storyboarding is the standard for defining the user experience during the design process for a more traditional, linear learning format, and when you already have an interface template to work within. But when you’re creating something that is non-linear or that allows learners to take the reins and decide what they will do in the experience (like games), previous and next buttons are no longer helpful. You’ll need different tools to define the experience and communicate to the developers how it should all work.

As a User Experience Designer, prototyping was a standard step in the process. One of the purposes of the prototype was for usability testing exercises. However, it was also an incredibly helpful design tool because it forced me to define those details that were not clear in my vision and to work out the nuances of the interactions so I could create the feel and user experience I was going for.
Prototyping does not have to be time intensive or expensive. In some cases, prototyping may require an actual working portion of the site, module, or application. But as a design tool, simple hand drawn sketches or slides created using the drawing tools in Powerpoint will help tremendously.

Below, you can see a paper prototype I did, complete with cutout popup menus, for a recent game design (“The Change Game” – stay tuned for more on that). Pretty rudimentary, isn’t it? I’m no artist, but this was never intended to be shared with anyone (except the developers who thoughtfully waited to laugh at my art skillz until we were off the phone); it was really just an exercise to help me through the design process. I borrowed some colored pencils from the kids’ art supplies, sat on the floor and started drawing.

So, for your next project that requires a little outside the storyboard-box thinking… try it! Even if you just draw it on paper and no one ever sees it. Your end product will be better for it!

(And if you’re feeling brave, share your sketches here and let me know how it turns out!)