How can you use interactive prototypes to showcase your UX research skills?

1 Step 1: Define your research goals and questions

Before you start prototyping, it's important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your research and the questions you want to answer. Your research goals and questions should be aligned with your project objectives, user needs, and business requirements. Additionally, they should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). For example, if you are designing a mobile app for online shopping, your research goal could be to understand how users browse, search, and purchase products. Your research questions could focus on how users navigate the app, the main pain points and frustrations users encounter, how users compare and select products, and how users complete the checkout process.

2 Step 2: Choose your prototyping tool and level of fidelity

The next step is to choose a prototyping tool that suits your needs and preferences. There are many prototyping tools available, such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, and Balsamiq. Some of them are more focused on visual design, while others are more focused on interactivity and functionality. You should also consider the level of fidelity of your prototype, which refers to how detailed and realistic it is. There are three main levels of fidelity: low, medium, and high. Low-fidelity prototypes are rough sketches or wireframes that show the basic layout and structure of your design. Medium-fidelity prototypes are more refined and include some colors, fonts, icons, and images. High-fidelity prototypes are very close to the final product and include all the visual and interactive elements. The level of fidelity you choose depends on your research goals, questions, budget, and timeline. For example, if you want to test the usability and functionality of your design, you might opt for a high-fidelity prototype that allows users to perform tasks and scenarios. If you want to test the concept and feedback of your design, you might opt for a low-fidelity prototype that allows users to focus on the content and flow.

3 Step 3: Build and test your prototype

The third step is to build and test your prototype with your target users. You can use your prototyping tool to create screens, components, transitions, animations, and interactions that match your design solution. You can also use your prototyping tool to share your prototype with your users and collect their feedback. You can conduct different types of user testing, such as usability testing, preference testing, A/B testing, and heuristic evaluation. You should also prepare a test plan that outlines your research goals, questions, methods, tasks, scenarios, metrics, and participants. You should also record and document your test sessions, such as by using screen capture, audio recording, notes, and surveys. The purpose of testing your prototype is to validate your assumptions, identify problems and opportunities, and gather insights and recommendations.