There is both creative and analytical aspects to prototyping - creative implies generating and testing ideas and analytical means operationalising goals and breaking down the concept into measurable chunks. For our course I would assume the video to be a creative approach to a concept that tests the idea and our interactive prototypes to be analytical - simply because it breaks down an overall product into more manageable pieces i.e. just testing a physical interaction or interface screen.
Consider a dashboard of a vehicle and answer the following questions:
What components are relevant to driving behaviour?
Driving behaviour is influenced by parking assist screens, speedometers, petrol gauges, audio and radio control, auxiliary connections and glove boxes.
What are the interactions of those components with the driver when driving?
- Parking assistance screens - The driver uses the monitor to direct the vehicle into the car park. They are multitasking between both the road and the screen using both visual, touch and sound senses.
- Speedometers & petrol gauges - Drivers are affected by speedometers to define how fast or slow they will drive depending on the pressure they put on the break or accelerator.
- Audio, radio control and auxiliary connections - Drivers are heavily affected by these influences. It draws them to focus on two things at once, avert their eyes and use their hands for two operations. Audio has an influence on drivers moods and also ability to focus.
- Glove boxes - If a driver stores snacks or cd's in their glove box this could be considered a distraction and as such an interaction.
What would you test? How would you test?
There are a variety of interactions that you could toy with in this setting. By setting a drivers music to different moods or speeds you could record the difference in interaction. Prototyping the parking assistance function would be ideal, you could work out which angle or park is best suited for the technology. Glove boxes could be tested to trial efficiency or less distraction. Having the contents in the glove box given to you etc.
Secondly we covered horizontal and vertical prototypes. Horizontal - models many features with little detail and test the overall interaction metaphor. Vertical - tests a few features with high detail and gets specific about the design.
