Week 8 - Houde "Prototypes"

• what are the four (4) categories of prototypes?

Role prototypes look into functionality, the role an artifact might perform, and how users would benefit from it. 

"Look and feel" prototypes simulate the experience of interacting with the artifact or simply looking at it.

Implementation prototypes examine how an artifact would work and what ways developers might make them work.

Integration prototypes encapsulate the whole experience-- look, feel, role, AND implementation. They're big boys. Basically, integration prototypes check to see that the whole project is one coherent experience (and that everything works).

• what's the difference between example 2 and example 3?

While example 2 shows what those actual figures might look like, example 3 was meant to test how quickly a computer could render the 3D images necessary for the program to work.

• what type of prototype is example 7, and why?

Example 7 is both a role prototype and a look-and-feel because it not only gives an idea of the final look of the product, but it was meant to help subjects imagine the role it might play in their lifestyle-- and, therefore, whether or not they might buy it.

• what type of prototype is example 10, and why?

Example ten is a look and feel prototype because it was created in order to simulate the size/dimensions/weight of the computer in question. It was meant to test whether or not it would be too unwieldy for users to carry with them.