"Prototypes: Why You Must Fake It Before You Make It” by Sarah Doody, UX Wizard ✨

How Prototyping Helps You Design A Better Product www.sarahdoody.com
How Prototyping Helps You
Design A Better Product
@sarahdoody
Sarah Doody
JUNE 7, 2017
sarah@sarahdoody.com
+

SARAH DOODY
• 14 years experience in UX at startups, large
companies, and running my own consultancy.
• Created and taught General Assembly’s ﬁrst 
12-week UX immersive in 2011.
• Founder of The UX Notebook, a weekly newsletter
and a physical notebook for designers.
• Involved in the UX industry through writing for
various publications and teaching courses.
• Also a marathoner, travel enthusiast, and Canadian.

HERE’S WHAT WE’LL COVER
🤔 Why we must prototype

🛠 The prototyping process

🔮 Tips to prototype fast & furiously

💬 Q&A

Why We Must Prototype
PART 1

FAKE IT UNTIL YOU
MAKE IT

But too often, teams
just MAKE IT.

THE MOTIVATION TO MAKE
SELL
SOMETHING
ATTRACT
INVESTORS
RECRUIT
NEW TALENT
BE THE FIRST
TO MARKET
FEELING OF
PROGRESS

Do not get trapped doing
activities that provide a
false sense of progress.

let’s make itidea
Product Development Timeline
• Expensive
• Time consuming
• Hard to turn back
• Lots of uncertainty
• Risk
• High cost to change
• Emotionally invested
• Finish line in sight
• Ego

If you make it too soon
you’ll have to fake it later.

• Too many features lead to confused users
• No clear use case; no “sticky” moment
• Slow growth … or no growth
• Extra marketing effort to explain the product
• Expensive & exhausting
• Doesn’t end well!
RISKS OF BUILDING TOO FAST

SIGNS YOU BUILT TOO FAST
PRODUCT TEAM USERS
• Scope creep

• Extended timeline

• Over budget

• Scope reduction
• Chasing tasks

• Burn out

• Declining passion

• Growing frustration
• Confusing ux

• Slow adoption

• No adoption

• No word of mouth

• Faking it allows you to avoid a lot of risk to your product, team,
and users 
• If you make it too soon, you’ll have a lot of explaining to do later 
• Don’t fall into the trap of doing things that provide a false sense
of progress 
• Real progress is about smart validation, not volume of output
RECAP

The Prototyping Process
PART 2

Ever feel like you’re
playing a game of
Telephone?

Too often, teams focus on
execution before deﬁning and
testing a product opportunity
or value proposition.

Get to know potential
users. Identify their pain
points. Dig deep and
ﬁnd the problems they
can’t even see.
RESEARCH
PROTOTYPING PROCESS
CREATE TEST & TELLSYNTHESIZE
Map the user’s journey.
Show how they go from
problem to solution. Use
the map to keep your team
in sync.
Make the prototype.
Consider the audience and
what level of ﬁdelity is
necessary for the
prototype.
Put it to test. Take it back
to the people you talked to
and test, test test. Share
your insights and iterate.

RESEARCH
Goal 
Understand the pain-points of the people who you are building the
product for. Know how they are currently solving this problem.
Methods & Tips
• One on one conversations

• Round-table discussions

• Articles & blogs

• Search social media like crazy
• Do it person so they can tell & show you
how they solve the problem now

• Record conversations, take pictures, collect
artifacts where possible

• If already in market, talk to key internal
stakeholders

SYNTHESIZE
Goal 
Create a map of the new journey the user should have and how
the product will ﬁt into that journey.
Methods & Tips
• Storyboarding

• Do not start with screens

• A sketch is an aid for communication,
not an art project.
• Do not start with screens, focus on the
user’s journey

• Then, identify where screens ﬁt into the
journey

The full
storyboard
shows the end
to end journey
from problem
to solution.

Based on the
storyboard,
the userﬂow
adds more
detail around
key screens &
actions in the
app.

CREATE
Goal 
Develop a prototype that can be used to test the key problem you
set out to solve for the user.
Methods & Tips
• Consider the context

• Understand the audience

• Identify its end usage

• Establish the ﬁdelity of the design

• List a set of features & stick to it.
• Agree on number of screens and key
tasks it should represent

• Use real content where possible

• Choose your prototyping tool wisely &
make it work for you

Carrier
Jack Danielle Add new
Which child is missing?
Carrier
We've sent a KinPoint alert to park guests
and employees to let them know Jack is
missing.
What's Next
1. Stay where you are incase Jack finds his
way back to you.
2. A Disney rep is on their way to your
Add photos Edit details
Cancel Alert
Improve Jack's alert page by adding photos
and details:
Carrier
Kinpoint Missing Child Alert
Jack, a 5 year old boy, has been reported
missing at Disney. Last seen at Rainforest
Cafe in Downtown Disney. Jack has
blonde hair and blue eyes.
Close View details
Carrier
Jack
Last seen in Downtown Disney at the
Rainforest Cafe, less than 500 feet from you.
Report Jack As Found
Carrier
We've let Jack's parents know your location.
It's important that you stay where you are
until Jack's parents reach you.
Help everyone feel at ease.
Call or FaceTime Jack's parents so he can
let them know he's ok.
Call FaceTime
Carrier
We've sent a KinPoint alert to park guests
and employees to let them know Jack is
missing.
What's Next
1. Stay where you are incase Jack finds his
way back to you.
2. A Disney rep is on their way to your
location to offer support and answer any
questions.
3. Turn the volume up on your phone so you
don't miss the notification when Jack is
found.
KinPoint Alert
Someone reported they've found Jack!
To view their location and make contact
with them view the
Close View details
Carrier
Confirm Jack as reunited
Someone's reported they found Jack!
You should make your way to Jack and the
person who found him. Here is Jack's location:
Call FaceTime
Call or FaceTime the person who has Jack to
make contact and put Jack at ease.
Carrier
Kinpoint Missing Child Update
The alert for missing child Jack has been
cancelled. His parents have confirmed
that they have been reunited with him.
Thanks for your help!
Dismiss
Report missing Next steps
Alert to park goers Alert details Found, next steps
Found alert to parents Found details
Found alert to park goers

Reporting a missing child
Jack Danielle Add New
Provide some more details to help people find Jack.
Add
photos Edit
detailsLast
seen
We’ve sent a KinPoint alter to employees
and park guests.
We’ve also dispatched an employee to
your location to support you and answer
any questions.
Please,
stay
where
you
are
incase

Jack
makes
his
way
back
to
you.
Missing child alert is
triggered with just one tap.
Alert DetailsClose
Jack is 5 years old, blonde hair, blue
eyes, 3’6” and 42 lbs. Last seen at
Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.
View: Parents View: Park Goers View: Parents
1 2 3
1
On confirmation screen,
parents can add more
information such as photos,
last location, and details
about the child.
Park goers & employees are
alerted via push notification.
Possibly consider text
messages as well.
2
3
The Browns have just
realized Jack is missing!!

Alert DetailsClose
Jack is 5 years old, blonde hair, blue
eyes, 3’6” and 42 lbs. Last seen at
Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.
MISSING
Jack
Brown
3 years old
blonde hair
blue eyes
Last
seen

at
Rainforest
Cafe,
Downtown
Disney
Photos Details
I found the child
Alert
issued
at
2:05pm
Saturday, October 26 2013
Name
Age
Height
Weight
Jack Brown
5 years old
3’ 6”
42 pounds
Identifying
features
Wears dark rimmed glasses
Photos Details
I found the child
Photos Details
I found the child
Alerting park goers of missing child
Photos tab Details tabView: Park Goers View: Park Goers
Jack is likely on foot & can’t travel far. Therefore location is
extremely important.
The goal of the alert detail screen is to give people a photo of
Jack and context between Jack’s location and their location in
the park.
Addition photos and details are accessible from tabs below the
map.
Kelly is at Disney and receives a KinPoint alert

Report a child as found
Provide some more details to help people find Jack.
Add
photos Edit
detailsLast
seen
We’ve sent a KinPoint alter to employees
and park guests.
We’ve also dispatched an employee to
your location to support you and answer
any questions.
Please,
stay
where
you
are
incase

Jack
makes
his
way
back
to
you.
KinPoint Alert
View DetailsClose
Someone reported they’ve found Jack!
To view the location and make contact
with them click to view the alert details.
Someone has reported they found Jack!
Please make your way to Jack and the
person who found him are waiting. Here is
their location:
YOU
Jack
is
0.15
miles
from
you
Call or Facetime Jack to help put him at ease.
Place
call
Once
reunited,
confirm
Jack
is
found
Facetime
When the finder reports
child as found, a
confirmation screen
provides further
information and options to
call or Facetime the child’s
parents.
The detail screen for
parents shows a map to the
child’s location with options
to call or Facetime.
View: Park Goers View: Parents View: Parents
We let Jack’s parents know your location,
they’re on their way.
Please stay where you are until Jack’s
parents reach you.
YOU
Jack’s
parents
are
0.15
miles
from
you.
Call or Facetime Jack’s parents to help put
everyone at ease.
Place
call Facetime
1
1
2 3
Parents are alerted by a
push notification. Also
consider text messaging.
2
4
3
4
When parents confirm child
as found, an alert goes out
canceling the missing child
notice.

Don’t re-invent the wheel.
Piece together existing tools to simulate your
product before you invest time and money.
TIP

EXAMPLE
Corporate event planning
& venue ﬁnding.

FIND OUT:
• Is our messaging right?

• Are we collecting enough information?

• What questions does customer have?

• How long is the process?

• What makes a customer buy?

• What price points convert best?

• What works?

• What doesn’t work?

TEST & TELL
Goal 
Put the prototype to test. See if it solves the problem you set out to
solve. Test with original interviewees & new participants.
Methods & Tips
• Keep it simple, mirrored rooms not
necessary!

• Make it a conversation, not a test

• Start high level with reactions, then
get into speciﬁc tests for tasks
• Record all of this if possible

• Identify common themes. Iterate.
Repeat.

OTHER PROTOTYPING TIPS
• Set a feature list and stuck to it. Don’t fall victim to feature creep

• Set a time limit and stick to it. Force yourself to work fast

• Be very careful with motion & animations

• Don’t worry about technical requirements

• Have regular checkins, don’t create in a silo

• Use the storyboard & user journey as an anchor, a thesis

• Prototyping doesn’t start with screens, it starts with people 
• Invest time early to identify the problem before you start on the
solution 
• Don’t get tempted by feature creep, create a prototype focused
on a speciﬁc problem 
• Consider the context and create with that in mind.  
• Set a deadline and stick to it. Hyper-collaborate.
RECAP

Stop building,
and just start
prototyping.
YOU ACTION STEPS
Do a chat with your team:  
“Are we building too soon?"
Identify 1 thing you could prototype  
next week.
Commit to creating the prototype, testing
it, and learning from it — next week.
Go through the prototyping process 
(slide 23)

Want to learn more?

UX NOTEBOOK
Weekly UX newsletter ﬁlled with ideas,
articles, and activities to help you think
like a designer.
www.theuxnotebook.com💌

SAY HELLO :)
@sarahdoody
sarah@sarahdoody.com
+

"Prototypes: Why You Must Fake It Before You Make It” by Sarah Doody, UX Wizard ✨

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