So you've decided to give paper prototyping a try. How do you go about doing it? This chapter outlines the people, activities, and time you'll need. Some companies do their first paper prototype usability study by hiring a consultant to come in and lead all the activities. This chapter and the others in this section cover much of what I do as a usability consultant theoretically, it should put me out of business!

I'm not being facetious. I believe that the best way to make interfaces more user-friendly is to close the feedback loop between product teams and users by teaching people how use paper prototypes to communicate, ask questions, and find answers. Once everyone knows how to do this, I'll find some other way to earn a living!

If you're not a usability specialist, you may be doing some of these things for the first time. If you already have a process for conducting usability studies, this chapter will help you identify the activities that are different from what you typically do. (On the surface, the only thing that's different about using a paper prototype for usability testing is that you have to create the paper prototype. But there may be some other differences from your typical process, such as leaving time for changes between tests and less need for formal reporting.)

The process described in this chapter has worked well for me on dozens of projects, but it certainly isn't the only way to do things. There are...