Macadamian Blog
Part 3: Winning Prototypes
This is the third in a series of posts on Prototypes by Mary Piontkowski and Martin Larochelle. Read the introductory post and Step 1 here.
Weave The Story
It is possible to create a stunning prototype that will win hearts and minds – and, most importantly, budget and approval – in a short timeframe. Weaving the story is one of the steps you’ll need to do this successfully. Here’s how:
Identify key use cases that can best demonstrate the business strategy and the differentiated product offering. Remember to consider the important factors to the audience, how this affects the story you tell, and how the prototype fits in.
The story could be fleshed out using a customer experience map, a series of personas, user stories, usage scenarios, or whatever medium your team is comfortable with that fully encompasses the details of the experience. This is your illustration of the vision and overall experience for the product.
From there, select which use cases are necessary to build and which can wait. Often just one use case, implemented exceptionally well, is more powerful than a multitude of features half-done.
Design and development teams need to work very closely together to create this product definition. Ideally, someone with a user experience design background is in a role to clearly document these details to help keep everyone on track and help the product manager gain consensus with other stakeholders.
Further Reading
Winning Prototypes: How to Capture Hearts & Minds of Stakeholders
A whitepaper by Martin Larochelle, Mary Pionkowski, and Didier Thizy.
About the Author
Mary Piontkowski is a user experience specialist who has worked with high-profile companies such as Adaptive Path, Organic, and Macromedia. Through her strategic approach, creative expertise, and mastery of a variety methods for design and innovation, Mary has helped build robust experiences for Fortune 100 and 500 companies such as Macy's, Levi's, PayPal, Sun Microsystems, Hasbro, Sprint, Allstate, and Microsoft. "I'm a strategic design leader who thrives in ambiguity -- situations that require change and transformation. My defining work revolves around digital experiences. I believe good design and innovation come from collaboration between cross functional teams and through close attention to user insights, business goals, and some instinct. I find that strong leadership requires a mix of soft and hard skills, from emotional intelligence and adaptable communication to strong facilitation and persuasion skills. I understand that the context of a situation must be understood in order to ultimately have influence within an organization and with end users alike. I believe in adhering to standards, but am always looking for opportunities for invention. While I am strongest in a leadership role, I believe that design leaders should always stay involved with the creative process."