Prototyping

AI-assisted summary

Prototyping is a fundamental tool in service design that serves as a method of self-expression and mutual understanding, designed to maximize learning through rapid iteration and failure. The approach emphasizes having multiple prototypes simultaneously since they are meant to fail, allowing teams to learn from those failures quickly and cheaply before actual implementation.

Prototypes can take various forms including actions/processes/experiences (storytelling sessions with actors, props, and staged environments), physical objects (lo-fi versions focusing on functionality, form, and materials), digital/software interfaces (from sketches to interactive software), environmental/architectural spaces (often miniaturized representations), and business ecosystem models. Each type includes specific components and can be applied holistically or to individual steps within the service design process.

• "The best way to have an idea is to have a lot of ideas"
• a tool of self-expression & to help understand each other better
• never have only one prototype
  • they are mentioned to fail & you should learn from those failures
• prepared to explore, evaluate & communicate ideas within the Service design process
• can be focused holistically or for individual step
• set up & built so that we can learn from them later
• replace actual implementation to learn faster & the aim is to maximize learning (because they are cheap to change / throw away)
• Prototype is for Service design what learning is for humans
• Act of creating and using Prototype is called Prototyping
• We're also using tools and techniques from Interaction design
• usually framed as a conceptual model
  • that is the actual interface people interact with
  • should be aligned with mental models of what Humans have in mind

Types

Actions, processes & experiences prototype

• Storytelling sessions or walk-through sessions or complex service simulation involving multiple actors

Include

• actors
  • people involved with a service - customers, employers, ...
  • early usually project members impersonate, the more hi-fi, the more important is to have real actors
• props
  • artifacts involved during the staging of the story
• stage
  • the room where the action of service is happening
  • including sensory environment (light, smell, ...)!
  • the more hi-fi, the more contextually aware the stage should be
• subject matter content
  • information or knowledge that is discussed, used or dealt with during interactions
  • e.g. flyers, manuals, books, apps, ...

Physical prototypes

• lo-fi versions of the product

Include

• function(ality)
  • defines what it can do or what the audience can do with it
  • can be real or mocked
• form
  • shape & aesthetics
• size & scale
  • can be real or minimized
• materials

Environment, spaces & architecture prototypes

• special case of Physical prototypes
• often minimized compared to the result

Include

• everything that physical objects have plus
  • layout & space
    • reflect how future building & structures are embedded in surrounding spaces, light conditions, ...

Digital & SW prototypes

• from scribble through mock-ups & click-through to experimentally running piece of software

Include

• display
  • display area of the prototype
• screens
  • screens of interactive elements
• interaction elements ^d91c3e
  • buttons, links, sliders, ...
• context elements
  • headings, text, audio, ...
• structure & flow
  • ~ IA
• function
  • defines what it can do, linked with ^d91c3e
• look & feel
  • layout, animation, colors, microcopy, CRAP, ...
• media & prototyping environment
  • pen & paper vs Figma-like tools vs full-fledged, ...

Ecosystem & business value prototypes

• basically Business model canvas

Tags: #design-methods #prototyping #service-design #iteration #learning

Created: 2025-06-29

Related notes

• Co-design
• Design jam
• Behavioral design
• Design research
• Ethical design