Rapid Prototyping in Human-Computer Interface Development

Hartson, H. Rex and Smith, Eric C. (1989) Rapid Prototyping in Human-Computer Interface Development. Technical Report TR-89-03, Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Abstract

Some conventional approaches to interactive system development tend to force commitment to design detail without a means for visualizing the result until it is too late to make significant changes. Rapid prototyping and iterative system refinement, especially for the human interface, allow early observation of system behavior and opportunities for refinement in response to user feedback. The role of rapid prototyping for evaluation of interface designs is set in the system development life cycle. Advantages and pitfalls are weighed, and detailed examples are used to show the application of rapid prototyping in a real development project. Kinds of prototypes are classified according to how they can be used in the development process, and system development issues are presented. The future of rapid prototyping depends on solutions to technical problems that presently limit effectiveness of the technique in the context of present day software development environments.