Tools for Rapidly Prototyping Mobile Interactions

Abstract

We introduce informal prototyping tools as an important way to speed up the early-stage design of mobile interactions, by lowering the barrier to entry for designers and by reducing the cost of testing. We use two tools, SUEDE and Topiary, as proofs of concept for informal prototyping tools of mobile interactions. These tools address the early stage design of two important forms of mobile interactions: speech-based and locationenhanced interactions. In particular, we highlight storyboarding and Wizard of Oz (WOz) testing, two commonly used techniques, and discuss how they can be applied to address different domains. We also illustrate using a case study: the iterative design of a location-enhanced application called Place Finder using Topiary. In this chapter we hope to give the reader a sense of what should be considered as well as possible solutions for informal prototyping tools for mobile interactions.