Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide by Todd Zaki Warfel

This book couldn’t have come out at a better time for UX designers. It was an immense help during my stint at Comcast (and also kept me productively occupied on my train commute.) And I’ve learned to say “prototyping” instead of “wireframing.”

Most of us already know the importance of prototyping. As mentioned in the foreword by Dave Gray, “to build a product or service before you test it is insane.” Some may view making prototypes as a waste of time, money and effort, but it’s better to “waste” such things at the testing stage than to present something to the world that’s a fail whale.

Warfel gives tips on how to make prototypes quickly and with little cost. Many of us are so dazzled by technology that we tend to think that to make a prototype we have to do raw coding or use a language like Java. A prototype can be made from paper and index cards, among other things. What really impressed me is that paper prototypes can also be made for devices like the iPhone.

Other great points about the book:

• The emphasis of prototyping as a process, and the need to brainstorm freely, emphasizing quantity over quality.

• Getting to use your imagination more readily by sketching rather than boxing yourself in by using an application right away. “Rough sketch” prototypes actually reduce cost and risk by working out the kinks now rather than with a finished product.

• There’s information that’s useful for both beginners and seasoned designers. Like many others who’ve read it, it’s hard to point out any flaws in the book. The only thing I can think of is the fact there’s no review or tips on using OmniGraffle, InDesign or Balsamiq, among others. But there may be a revised edition in the future, so hopefully these will be included.

Now if only the concept “If you can’t make it, fake it” could apply to all areas of life….