How can you improve UX testing with interactive prototypes?

Interactive prototypes are great for testing your design hypothesis desirability and, depending on how advance they are, they can also be use to capture feasibility evidence. You can use interactive prototypes for the following experiment methods: - Concierge - Wizard of Oz

Improving UX testing with interactive prototypes is a pivotal step toward enhancing the evaluation of user experience. Unlike traditional methods such as static mockups, which can only convey a limited visual representation, interactive prototypes elevate the testing process by bridging the gap between design and real-world interactions. Static mockups, while useful for presenting visual concepts, often fall short in capturing the dynamic nature of user interactions. They lack the ability to convey the flow, transitions, and responsiveness that users expect from a functional product. As a result, relying solely on static mockups might lead to overlooking critical usability issues that only become apparent in real-world usage scenarios.

Interactive prototypes are design's tangible dreams. They transform concepts into immersive experiences. For a travel app. Example: Users explored destinations, swiped through itineraries, and booked with a tap. The design dance transcended aesthetics, orchestrating a seamless journey that users delighted in.

Interactive prototypes can be a really powerful tool internally, too, to visualise product value, align teams, and create enthusiasm for a new feature or product.

That is true interactive prototype means not only having a digital interface. It can be done with paper and pen as well.For example, if I am building an e-commerce app, I will create my prototype which can be interactive through paper wireframe.

Interactive prototypes are the stage where UX testing takes center stage. Just as a director rehearses before opening night, interactive prototypes let users engage with designs. For an e-commerce platform, I tested an interactive prototype. Users navigated the virtual aisles, adding items to their cart, and smoothly completing transactions. This "dress rehearsal" uncovered usability glitches and allowed refinements before the big reveal, ensuring a flawless user experience.

Interactive prototypes tend to provide real product experience for some of the tools like protopie, there are advice prototyping that can enable you to add even the states of components and interact with them like in real app. I highly advice to use interactive prototypes as they give a clear picture rather than telling the user “imagine this moves here” it’s better to be this move here. Tools like protopie make designs feel alive before development which provide real and sensible data during testing

Usually, with several iterations of interactive prototypes, I've seen improved forecasting. While launching new-to-the-industry features, we've involved target audiences in the product design. This iterative approach involved contributions from the target audience. How they have often solved existing issues using offline processes or XL sheets. The basket of rich inputs helped us capture high-value use cases and prioritize prototyping. Some of the disadvantages of interactive prototypes As prototypes gain user confidence - investing more time in creating high-fidelity mockups. Making each micro-interaction clickable makes prototypes consume system resources and thus won't load smoothly. User dissastisfaction not everything is clickable.

I use tools like Figma. For a social networking app, I created an interactive prototype. Buttons beckoned with gradients, taps triggered animations, and swipes unveiled menus.

In short : Personal Preference : 1- Set Goal : Choose the task or journey that need to be followed. Decide to whether to cover all possible scenarios/use cases or only the happy path 2- Use Design Tool : go through hifi wireframes. Segregate/rearrange if need as per the goal set in step 1 3- Animate : Chose device and transiations/ animation upon deciding the clicks/hovers/drags etc 4- Review the prototype and adjust 5- Share the prototype only with the users/stakeholders 6- Follow the Usability/User testing practice to get insight from the prototype to make redesign decisions.

I also prepare prototyping sprints around 1. Design for multiple business objectives 2. Sequence feature testing thoughtfully 3. Track feedback data at granular level 4. Identify outliers in the user base 1. Design and test prototypes of features for multiple business objectives. It reduces post-launch failure. Select a solution that gives deeper adoption. 2. Storyboard the testing of the prototype. Orchestrate the journey in a manner that helps user elevate their day at work. 3. Feedback like "users loved it" or "it's not intuitive" are summaries. Look for granular feedback on both user behavior and analytics. 4. Power users have different views of processes. Deep dive into their needs. All of this in addition to design assets etc

Use a tool such as Figma or Protopie. 1?? While creating the prototype focus on the small interactive details, hover states, dropdowns etc as a live website/app works. Keep in focus the more realistic look. 2?? Once completed invite completely new users to test the prototype. Important to give them a task to complete in your prototype and ask them to comment by voice everything what they see and feel. Better if you can do a screen recording and learn their clicks and flows. Where they start, first interactions, dead clicks etc. Don't help them (or only if they really stucked and the flow is complex, since a complex system can be) 3?? At the end prepare questions regarding to task. For example: How hard was to find where to start?

Your user research, goals, pain points, sketches of task flows, user flows, and low & high-fidelity wireframes are getting together for good in your prototype. Go step by step (frame by frame), visualize your users' steps (animations, interactive prototypes) to complete a task, and let your users test it. When they can't tell the difference, whether it is a website or a prototype, then it means you did a pretty good job. If you feel stuck along the way just trace back your steps to the task flows and user flows. My go-to is Figma for interactive prototyping, and I always felt satisfied. I always have fun playing around with Figma and doing my best to create an actual website feeling.

An example I’ve gone through is when testing the prototype to various user’s demography. Interactive prototypes could really help me capture and synthesize their insight earlier because it is gave the clear contexts for both the user and the researcher; especially for when testing some group with low tech-savviness.

Designing a medical app, Users simulated appointments, accessing resources seamlessly. Their feedback guided refinement, ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience. Interactive prototypes spotlight issues early, saving time, resources, and delivering a standing ovation from users.

1. Interactive Prototypes help in validating and de-risking ideas. 2. Saves cost and time, since you can run week long design sprints for prioritized use cases to test at the end of each sprint. 3. Smaller teams can build interactive prototypes for multiple business objectives. Highlight: In some projects customers are also involved in the designing process. This helps them in socializing the solution in their organization. 4. Users experience an immersive and realistic product during the testing phase. 5. Prototypes can be used as development specs. Though still detailed use cases need more discussion and solutions.

I have used Tobii Eye tracking tech for conducting UX testing of interactive prototypes and live websites. It was a data-centric experience and we were able to generate data reports about UX testing as deliverables.

I use many techniques for prototyping and my favorite one is using LEGO Serious play. It's greatest benefit as a prototyping tool is that using blocks to depict values, features through is very engaging and imaginative. Best of all, participants can easily break the brick models and start again in short 2-10 minute sprints. Play! Gets the best results in prototyping, hands down.

Balancing functionality with aesthetics demands precision. Managing animations and interactions, I encountered challenges. The delicate choreography between elements required finesse. Yet, these challenges, much like rehearsals, refine the final performance, delivering an impeccable user experience.

Prototypes are usually simple to create but hard to test correctly and even harder to extract valuable insights. Collaborating from start is critical. Define testing goals, align testing goals with business goals, check that test results will be useful for the project. Because it's possible to create great prototype, test it, get some results and be unable to implement them. So spend time to imagine what you will do with testing results even before creating prototypes.

I feel when I share (over email, chat or meeting) the prototype link with users at times it lacks personal interaction. In some cases I've shared screen recordings of me using the prototype and talking why behind the design decisions. Engaging with users help in understanding their psychology and empathy plays an essential part in designing for them. I strive to have that dialogue with them often. Building prototypes is one part of the equation. For bigger features or new product launches interactive prototypes need hybrid testing approach. Blend of empathy, behavioral data, intuition, good design sense and deeper insights of data.

If you creating in Figma you're happy now after 2023 Figma's biggest update with variants. (Learn more about that, u will love it) The first challenge l think to prepare the correct UX test prototype, not just give a prototype with no scope. Really important to know what you exactly want to test. Second challenging part in my perspective to achieve the most possible realistic look and feel. I miss a lot the inputs writing function so the users can actually write something in it.

Given the enhanced features offered by Figma for creating interactive prototypes, conducting prototype-driven testing has become exceptionally effortless. This approach demands minimal resources while delivering priceless insights. Within our organization, we consistently embrace this methodology.

If Figma variables are a no go to, you can always use prototyping service like Protopie in which you can simulate intricate flows and interactions.

Make sure you also validate user needs with real users. If you are short on time and resources, you could do a combo ... a short user interview to validate user needs followed by a testing of the interactive prototype. The overall session set-up will take a longer time (1 hour or more), however, this agile approach could help you catch any important customer needs, which you could have otherwise overlooked and failed to address.