WHY PROTOTYPE?
Prototyping allowed our team to transform our ideas into a textural, real form where our users’ needs can be truly realized. Supporting our reading, the skeptic guide to Low Fidelity Prototyping, prototyping our app will help us catch potential problems and gain insights faster and earlier in the process. This prototype is a preliminary version on our product and is a tool in which will ultimately improve our thinking and focus.
HOW WE STARTED
Before the prototyping phase, our team had come up with the problem statement of “Physically and Socially active individuals aged 55+ entering into retirement in dense urban environments need a housing community where they won’t lose social connection as they advance through levels of care.” Which led to the innovation of a specific floor plan. When we began prototyping an idea occurred to us. Why can’t we incorporate our unique floorplan into an app that will maximize the sense of community and social connection? We can! We created a floor plan, but this app in even more innovative! We are very excited to see how it unfolds.
We individually visualized the concept and met this weekend to collaborate on the prototype. We brought a few hand drawn ideas and then put our favorite ones on the white board where we could more easily make changes. Going off the advice from “The Skeptic Guide to Low Fidelity Prototyping”, we acknowledged the importance of using initial low cost/time materials, so we could iterate more willingly. When you have a lot of time and money invested in a prototype you are less willing to make changes and listen to advice.
We decided to follow a “story” so there was a flow and logical thinking toward the app. We used our persona, Nancy, and documented a normal day for her and how she may use the app. We then split up the sections and will bring it all together on Tuesday.
Goals
We are going to depict each of the apps features and how using these features will increase community and social connection. We used an i-phone template and screen shot our custom design into an easy to follow story. The main features we would like to show are the community assessment, reservations, schedule and connect features. We are building an app that makes it simple and easy for people to connect with one another.
Our goal is to provide a simple platform that improves the lives of its users. By prototyping we hope to detect and address any major problems or concerns with the usability and design before we go into the field test. We look forward to listening to the feedback from our field group and finalizing our prototype off their insight.