Interaction Design Week 5
This week we were asked to complete a draft of our projects, then post our progress to the class for discussion. In those discussions an interesting question was posed, “How do you feel about static prototypes vs. interactive prototypes?” This got me thinking about when was the best time to use each and what should each type be used for. So I did some research. Prototypes have two main benefits that static prototypes are lacking in: 1. They save development time as ideas are shown rather than inferred and 2. They allow for more effective communication of design ideas with stakeholders earlier in the process. However, if a team is particularly agile and or has a high amount of communication between them paper prototyping can be quite effective as well. The communication structure of the organization, the stakeholders involved, and the degree of interactivity should all be taken into account when deciding between static or interactive prototypes. So the answer of which is better really is it depends on your organization or your personal preference. There really is no “right” answer.