Reading Seminar 1 - Thoughts about the text - Sofia Jacobsson

One of the terms that the book talks much about is thorough preparation. It is important to identify the target group and find information about the environment before starting to develop a prototype. The book also talks about conceptualizing, which basically means figuring out what you want to create, and most importantly WHY you want to create it. This is very important for the developer because it benefits the finished product, which will be much better if you conceptualize. Another important term in the book is interface metaphor; trying to explain something with the help of knowledge the target person has and is familiar with.

The book also talks about different requirements; what the product should do and again WHY. There are a lot of different types of data-gathering that are good for certain situations and projects. One good way to get to know the environment is to do a field study and ask people at the location things that are close to the field of the project. However, it is also important to think about source criticism. If the interviewee is giving a very subjective point of view, it is important to choose various people to interview to get a broader perspective of the field. 

A very central part of developing a product is to write a detailed description of the product, BEFORE developing it. This is, in most cases, very beneficial to the result and the finished product. Another good tool is to perform case studies, where you study earlier and similar problems and how someone solved them. Then you can get tips about how to solve your specific problem.

The text also brings up the importance of prototyping. It is good to create many low quality prototypes since they are quickly made. This can help developers to not get stuck on a certain idea. One of the challenges when developing a product is to understand when to go from prototype to developing the actual product. Here, two important tools are conceptual design; a model of what the product will do and how it will behave, and physical design; specifies the details of the design. 

Finally, maybe one of the most important tools of all; evaluation. It is crucial to know that it is an iterative process. You must look back at what you have done and then continue developing. Both during the development and after the project is complete. This way, the finished product will be much better than without evaluation. 

Question:
How do you know when the prototype is finished and you should start developing the product? Can you go back to the prototype after you have started developing the product?