A corporate innovation team is tasked with building a new business service for the Human Resources recruitment department. The team decides to use Lean Hypothesis Testing to test their assumptions about the needs and preferences of HR professionals. They begin by defining their hypothesis: "Recruiters in the company, serving business in their geographical market, would prefer a decentralized platform for offering external Staff-on-demand to self-service and manage their own data and applicant profiles, rather than using multiple centralized, disparate systems that are slow and expensive to modify when new UX or user functions are needed. Also the centralized management of applicants is a scarcity model and requires a lot of resources to manage".
The team starts by creating low-fidelity prototypes of the platform, using paper prototypes and wireframes. They conduct user testing with a group of HR professionals, asking them to navigate the prototypes and provide feedback on the design and functionality. Based on the feedback received, the team refines their hypotheses and develops more detailed mockups of the platform.
The team conducts further user testing with the mockups, gathering feedback on the visual design and user experience. They use this feedback to further refine their hypotheses and develop a clickable digital prototype of the platform. They conduct additional user testing with the digital prototype, gathering feedback on the functionality and interaction of the platform.
Based on the results of their testing, the team determines that their hypothesis is correct: Staff-on-Demand professionals being hired by the HR team’s company would prefer a decentralized platform for managing their own data. They use the insights gained from their testing to develop a more detailed prototype of the platform, which they then present to their management with a detained roadmap, resource plan and budget, requesting approval and budget to cover the first 1-2 milestones of design, implementation and onboarding of the first users. The new platform is well-received by professionals in the geographical markets, who appreciate the streamlined and decentralized approach to selv-managing their data. The HR services company sees the succesful launch and first completed milestones and commit to fund also the following milestones, including more added functionality and marketing campaigns for this new service, that can help scale the business with new clients while offering new value to their existing clients.
Let’s next discuss why hypothesis testing is crucial for testing YOUR key hypothesis for each of your ExO initiatives.
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The types of prototypes mentioned in this video (with links to the service websites):
| Type of Prototype | Description | Relevant Tools/Apps | Useful For | Example Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper Prototypes | These are simple sketches or drawings that represent the user interface and functionality of a product or service. They can be created using pen and paper or digital tools | Balsamiq or Sketch | Paper prototypes can be useful for testing usability and user experience hypotheses. | A startup is developing a new mobile app for ordering food delivery. They create a paper prototype of the app's interface and test it with potential users. One hypothesis they want to test is whether users will find the process of customizing their order to be intuitive and easy to use. They observe how users interact with the paper prototype and ask for feedback on the customization process. Based on the results of the test, they may make changes to the app's design to improve the user experience.AA |
| Wireframes | Wireframes are basic visual representations of a product’s layout and structure. They focus on the placement of elements and navigation flow. | AI tools like Framer, InVision or Balsamiq can help create interactive wireframes quickly. | Wireframes can be useful for testing usability and user experience hypotheses when building a prototype in the context of lean startup and hypothesis testing. | A startup wants to create a new e-commerce website and has developed a basic prototype of the website's layout and structure. They want to test the usability and user experience of the website before investing in full development. To do so, they decide to create a wireframe and then conduct user testing with a group of potential users, asking them to navigate the wireframe and provide feedback on the website's design and functionality. Based on the feedback received, the startup can make improvements to the prototype before moving forward with full development. |
| Storyboards | Storyboards are visual sequences that depict the user’s journey or the flow of a process, allowing teams to quickly visualize and communicate their ideas. | Adobe Spark (Express), Canva or Gamma (for slides or similar) | Storyboards can be useful for quickly visualizing and communicating ideas about the user's journey or the flow of a process. They can help teams better understand the user's experience and identify pain points or opportunities for improvement. In the context of lean customer discovery, storyboarding can be a useful tool for testing hypotheses about user needs and behaviors before investing in more time-consuming prototype development. | A startup is exploring the idea of developing a new mobile app for booking and managing appointments with healthcare providers. Before investing time and resources in building a full prototype, the team decides to use storyboards to test their hypothesis that users would find the app's booking process intuitive and easy to use. They create a series of visual sequences that depict the user's journey through the app, from searching for healthcare providers to booking and managing appointments. By testing the storyboards with potential users, the team gains valuable insights into user needs and pain points, which they use to refine their hypotheses and develop a more successful prototype. |
| Mockups | Mockups are static visual representations of a product’s design. They provide a more detailed look and feel compared to wireframes. | AI tools like Adobe XD or Figma offer features that streamline the creation of mockups. | ||
| https://www.reforge.com/ | A mockup can be useful for testing usability and user experience hypotheses, as it provides a more detailed look and feel compared to wireframes. A mockup is typically created after a wireframe has been tested and refined, and the team is looking to further evaluate the design and functionality of the product or service. Mockups are static visual representations of a product’s design and are useful for getting feedback on the visual elements of the product. | A startup may create a mockup of a new e-commerce website to test the placement of elements like buttons and images, as well as the overall color scheme and branding. By testing the mockup with potential users, the team can gain valuable insights into how users respond to these visual elements and use the feedback to refine their hypotheses and develop a more successful prototype. | ||
| Digital (Clickable) Prototypes | Digital prototypes simulate the functionality and interaction of a product or service. | Tools like https://lovable.dev/lenny, Proto.io or Marvel can help teams create interactive prototypes with minimal coding required. Powerpoint or Keynote can also be useful for putting together clickable illustrations. | A digital, clickable prototype would be best for testing hypotheses related to the functionality and interaction of a product or service. This type of prototype can be useful when the team has refined their hypotheses through other low-fidelity prototypes, such as wireframes or mockups, and is looking to further evaluate the design and functionality of the product or service. | In the use case described on the top of this page, a digital prototype can be used to test more complex hypotheses related to user behavior or the integration of different features or systems. It is generally more time-consuming and resource-intensive to build a digital prototype compared to other low-fidelity prototypes, so it may not be necessary or appropriate for all hypotheses, and it is usually not built until the initial validation of your most important hypothesis are validated using low-fidelity prototypes (some of the options above here in this table). |
| Video Prototypes | A video that demonstrates the user journey and interactions without functional code. | Tools like Adobe Premiere Pro or even PowerPoint can be used to create video prototypes. | A video prototype is most useful for testing hypotheses related to the user journey and interactions without functional code. It can be a useful tool for visualizing and communicating the user experience of a product or service, and can be used to test hypotheses related to user behavior or the integration of different features or systems. However, it is important to note that a video prototype is not a functional prototype and cannot be used to test the technical feasibility of a product or service. | A startup is developing a new mobile app for fitness tracking. They want to test their hypothesis that users will find the app's gamification elements motivating and engaging. To do so, they create a video prototype that demonstrates the user journey and interactions with the app, including the gamification elements. They show the video prototype to potential users and gather feedback on the effectiveness of the gamification elements in motivating them to use the app. Based on the feedback received, they can refine their hypotheses and make improvements to the app's design before investing in full development. |
| Voice Prototypes | Mockups of voice-based interactions for products like smart speakers or voice assistants. | Tools like Botmock or Dialogflow can assist in creating voice interaction prototypes. | Voice prototypes are best for testing hypotheses related to voice-based interactions for products like smart speakers or voice assistants. Consider voice as an additional user interface to your actual initiative by leveraging existing smart voice assistant services. | A recruitment team is developing a new online recruitment service and wants to test their key business hypothesis that the service's voice-based interactions will be intuitive and user-friendly. They create a voice prototype of the service, using a platform like Botmock or Dialogflow. The prototype includes voice-based prompts and responses that allow users to search for job postings, submit applications, and manage their applicant profiles. The team conducts user testing with a group of job seekers, asking them to interact with the voice prototype and provide feedback on the usability and user experience. Based on the feedback received, the team makes improvements to the voice prototype and continue testing more hypothesis. |
| Virtual Reality (VR) Prototypes | Design Basic VR simulations to visualize spatial design and interactions. | Unity with the XR Interaction Toolkit can be used to create basic VR prototypes. | VR prototypes are best suited for testing hypotheses related to spatial design and interactions. For example, a startup developing a new virtual reality game might use a VR prototype to test hypotheses about the user experience of navigating the game's virtual environment. | |
| Augmented Reality (AR) Prototypes | Simple AR overlays to demonstrate how digital elements can interact with the real world. | AR platforms like ARCore and ARKit have development kits to create basic AR prototypes. | Augmented Reality (AR) prototypes are best suited for testing hypotheses related to simple AR overlays that demonstrate how digital elements can interact with the real world. | |
| AI-Generated Prototypes | Use AI-generated images or designs to quickly prototype certain aspects of the product. | Runway ML or DeepDream can generate AI-powered visual elements for your prototypes. | One effective way for a corporate innovation team (new to AI and prototype building) to build their first AI-generated prototype would be to use a platform like Runway ML or DeepDream to generate AI-powered visual elements for their prototype. These platforms offer easy-to-use development tools and can help teams quickly create and test hypotheses related to the use of AI in their product or service. It is important for the team to define their hypothesis clearly and prioritize their testing based on the most important assumptions they are making about the user needs and preferences. |