Comparative Analysis of Hi and Lo fidelity Prototypes for more valid evaluations of mobile devices

Reading Exercise Block 4, Week 3

The following shows that I have skim read through "Comparative Analysis of High and low fidelity Prototypes for more valid usability evaluation of mobile devices". I have skim read this paper i n 45 to 60

Problems authors discussed concerning evaluation of prototypes

- Validation of low -fidelity prototyping test results test is difficult, because they cannot claim whether the results are the effect of prototype itself or the essence of the design concept they try to evaluate.
- Will cost too much to implement a fully functional prototype and there is no stabilized consensus.
- The evaluation process is more complicated and unpredictable, especially if a low fidelity prototyping technique is being used. Reason is that is is harder to claim whether the evaluation findings are originated by the actual concept of the system of by the innate characteristics of the prototype.
- Low fidelity approaches like paper prototyping are insufficient to precisely capture interactivity.
- Found it difficult to claim the scientific validity of the test results.
- The validation of prototype based evaluation results would not be possible, if they used a wrong prototyping technique apropos to the evaluation goal.
- The needed to select a product that is not too complicated but has critical aspects of mobile computing products.
- One the most important issues that they had to go back on was the cost, which they had to check how costly each prototyping technique would be.
- Each different prototyping technique can reveal the same kind of usability problems.
- Using one prototyping techniques would not discover all the possible problems.

The following shows the main recorded actions as usability problems during the testing sessions:

1. Users push a wrong key (button).
2. Users explicitly express problems in their think aloud protocols and gestures.
3. Users repeat the action they already completed in order to check if they did right or not.