Got an idea? Time to prototype and test it!
This month, we’re exploring a fundamental concept in innovation: testing; i.e. experimenting with our ideas in order to improve and validate before implementing them. Testing is often done through prototypes. So today, I’m going to share practical tips on how to prototype your ideas. I invite you to think about a REAL idea you’re currently exploring so you can consider how to test and prototype it.
The first step in the testing phase is to define your hypotheses. What exactly are you trying to test, validate or confirm? Think about the most risky parts of your idea that need to be validated before you can move forward with this idea so that when you implement it, you’re doing so from much more solid ground.
The second step is to design an experiment to validate those hypotheses. What kind of prototype could you put together in a cheap, easy and agile way to get feedback from potential users regarding your hypotheses. You could design and run any kind of experiment but here are some tried and true prototypes that will probably be useful.
Storytelling: Just as it sounds, this is literally telling a potential user what a product or service would be like to get their feedback. It’s a great first step because you don’t need much to start doing this once you have an idea! You can make it more concrete by sharing a digital or physical storyboard as your prototype so that potential users can get a better sense of what you’re envisioning.
Roleplay: With this type of prototype, you simulate part of the user experience with potential users and get their feedback. You don’t need much to do this as you’ll be tapping into people’s imagination but by acting things out, they’ll be able to give you much more precise and helpful feedback.
Model: This prototype is a visual (physical or digital) representation of your idea that you share with users to get their feedback. Ideally, it is something the user can interact with even if it is made with very basic materials. For example, before designing a fully functional app, you can show what the main screens would look and feel like on paper.
Fake Door: This is my favorite prototype trick! You promote your idea as if it was already available and functional, just to see what kind of reaction and interest you get from potential users. For example, I might publish a banner on my homepage for a new product or service just to measure how many clicks it gets (and I can always notify users on the next screen that it is coming soon).
Wizard of Oz: This entails giving the impression of something being fully automated whe it is actually being done manually behind the scenes. For example, if we have the idea of a chatbot-based service, the first thing we would do is manually start to interact with our users as if we were a chatbot just to evaluate if this is a useful channel before actually setting up and programming a bot powered by artificial intelligence.
The third step is to run the experiment. Here you need to ensure you are getting valuable data on the results of your experimentation. Valuable data comes from asking open questions, measuring the right indicators, and making sure you are sharing the prototype with people who truly represent your future potential users.
The fourth step is to learn from the experiment. After each prototype test, you should be analyzing results. Consider what worked and what didn’t as well as what questions or ideas emerged from the test.
The last step is to act on the learning. After each prototype test, you should be ready to take action. This can mean making small adjustments (called iterations) or even a more significant change (a pivot) before testing the next version of your idea. Sometimes, after a series of tests, you may conclude that the idea should NOT move forward. That’s ok, all ideas end up transformed through the testing phase and not all ideas should make it through! So be open to learning and adjusting your initial idea, as this is the whole purpose of testing.
Innovation is about embracing uncertainty, taking calculated risks, and learning and adapting. Testing is a fundamental part of that process so I invite you to think about an idea you’re currently exploring (in life or work!) and challenge yourself to get it into testing mode ASAP!
If you want to go deeper into the process of testing and prototyping, I’ve recently posted lots of practical tips on linkedin, check them out here.
