Embedded Files
APD Pretotype VIdeo.mp4During our pretotyping phase of the design, we created 2 separate pretotypes for the same design each with a separate key question we hoped they would answer:
What does an intuitive user interface look like, and do people enjoy interacting with the product?
How does the carousel system work fundamentally?
Extra: In retrospect, this pretotype caters to a larger scale design. Since our target market has changed, we can still keep the information about what people like for a UI but implement that into a far simpler UI design.
Description:
Here we utilized the "Wizard of Oz" method of pretotyping to create a near full-scale facsimile of the intended design out of cardboard boxes. This prototype's goal was to answer the question of what an intuitive and enjoyable user interface looks like. The upper section has a mock-up of an interface that allows the user to select a tool, and the machine then brings the appropriate tray to the tool dispensing slot. The user is then able to select the desired tool. In this iteration of the pretotype, a person inside the box dispenses the appropriate tool. During testing we changed the visuals of the UI by drawing in a screen , and the layout of the cardboard because we heard feedback from the users that it was more effective with a slightly different design.
Testing:
When testing this pretotype we found a good variety of people to play with it. In our case the people buying the product are shop managers, although the people using the product are non-shop managers (in a school setting these would be the students). So we interviewed 8 different people to test out the pretotype, by explaining the concept to them and asking them to use the UI and explain their thought process and how they were feeling. We got successful feedback from most users by adding small ideas to help the UI become more efficient or intuitive in ways we hadn't thought of previously.
Description:
To demonstrate and test the configuration of the design, we created a scaled pretotype. This helps answer the question of how we want the general mechanism to work. This contraption is built out of a cardboard box, with PVC pipes stuck through as shafts for the pulleys. The chains for the vertical carousel are made out of pipe cleaners and the trays are made out of paper. The trays are fixed to the pipe cleaners with duct tape. The pretotype requires an operator to pull on the pipe cleaners directly as the PVC pipes do not provide enough friction for the handles to turn the carousel.
Testing:
For testing, we were the main users since we wanted to learn how everything interacted. We tested the pretotype by turning the handles and seeing if that was a good feel, we also saw if driving both chains/pipecleaners was necessary for operations. From this we learned that we want both chains to be driven and that we need to account extra for the space that the storage containers take up.
Design Requirements and Specifications:
Moving forward, we created a few design requirements based on the testing from our pretotypes:
Bins must not interfere with the axle
Both chains/pulleys have to be driven
The user interface should be as minimal as possible
The user should be able to see the tools they want to use while rotating the bins (transparent trays)
The user interface should have instructions constantly displayed
Key Performance Indicators:
Below are 5 indicators that will help determine if the product is fit for the target market. These have all been implemented after our experiences with interviewing people for the pretotype. They make sense because they involve human metrics to ensure people want the product
Trades hobbyists, when interviewed, believe the design to be more effective than shelving
Users, when interviewed, can operate the product without any outside instruction
People, when interviewed, believe the product serves a worthwhile cause
Design targets people in at-home shop settings and intentionally doesn't include high-priced features
Design can be operated by a motor to allow for maximum accessibility and reduce human error in operating the device.
User Clinic:
After the construction of the pretotypes we completed a user clinic for each design, asking different people their thoughts. This was the majority of our testing. For the Wizard of Oz UI pretotype this involved asking people to go through the process and explaining what felt good and what didn't. For the Scaled Model, we testing with ourselves to understand important design features. The video of this user testing is at the top of the page. We learned that people wanted to see what they were getting (eventually leading to the adaptation of transparent trays), and that the design needed to be driven on both chains.
Surprising Insights:
From our pretotyping and testing, we didn't have any large surprises. Most of our results were expected, although it was still good to have data to validate our suspicions. Our takeaways are below.
Key Takeaways:
From this prototyping state, we now have a few takeaways, most of which are expressed above in the design requirements, but also
Final design should be tested with a diverse group of people to ensure intuitiveness
Vertical Carousel design should be obvious to not have users accidentally mess with the system unintentionally
Moving forward, the design requirements will mainly drive what we need to do, although the other takeaways will be implemented in the testing of such prototypes.
Concept to Carry Forward
Moving on with the project, we hope to combine both of these prototypes to continue work on the overhead tool organization system.
We plan to start work on proper prototypes which can answer questions such as efficiency of space, motorization, and electronic UI feasibility.
Canvas
To help with the making and testing of our pretotypes we created a canvas board for each design. This is shown below and helped us make fundamental decisions about the design and how to interpret results from the testing.
Team 6 Prototyping Canvas.pdfReport abuse