#greg nudelman

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[agentfin]

It's not that complicated...

Oh no! You have to create a mobile app! Time to invest in some really serious prototpying tools.

You'll obviously need something with shiny buttons. Something that really captures the reflections on the screen... animation will be important too, right?

Wrong. 

Go out and buy some of these:

Yes, that's right. 3x5 Post-it Notes from 3M.

Little did they know that they were actually making the ideal mobile prototyping tool all this time! 

How do you use them? Well, just draw out the buttons and suchnot that you want on each screen. Slap one onto an actual phone. Then walk up to the user you're testing on and LET THEM HOLD THE PHONE AND CLICK THINGS! 

Doubt me? Go try it. 

Why is this better than those flashy things you can create on your desktop? Because your tester will actually be HOLDING THE PHONE... they'll get into it. It's called suspension of disbelief, but it's paired with real physical cues of holding a phone. As soon as you add a keyboard, a mouse... a chair! Not a mobile experience anymore.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you should follow users into the bathroom to do your testing [fess up, that's where we all wind up "checking in"]. But they'll still get a more real experience.

Oh, and these babies cost a bit less than that pricy software too. 

[Original credit for this insight goes to Greg Nudelman Principal at Design Caffeine]