2. Using Paper Prototyping to
Design Mobile Applications
Dave Brightbill
College Center for Library Automation

3. • Established in 1989 to provide automation
and support to Florida State College libraries.
• Provides online library management and
information services to over 80 libraries at 28
Florida State Colleges.
• Supporting students and faculty at institutions
ranging from small rural cities to large urban
communities.

4. Students and Research
Looking at how
students conduct
research and aligning
our mobile interfaces
to support that
process.
Image: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License – User:
Bathsofm.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Student_in_library.jpg

5. The Student Research Process
• Pre-search
• Research
• Incorporate/Create
Photo: London School of Economics and Political Science

6. Pre-search
• Identify objectives
and pick a topic.
• Identify parameters.
• Gather
background/big
picture
Photo – University of Salford Press Office - Creative Commons 2.0 Generic License

7. Research
• Identify appropriate
sources
• Gather information
• Evaluate information
Photo: Tulane University Public Relations – Creative Commons Attirbution 2.0 Generic License

8. Incorporate/Create
• Understand
Information
• Use Information
• Create Output
• Format Output
Photo: German Federal Archive – Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution Share-Alike License

9. Input From Students
Collected ideas from
students during focus
groups and user tests.
Photo: CEJISS – Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

10. Focus Group Themes
• Native iPhone/Droid library apps.
• Collaborative networking features.
• Dictionary and thesaurus available
everywhere.
• Reduced number of clicks to success.
• Integration with Blackboard and other CMS’s.
• SSO and simplified log-in.

11. Planning for Mobile Redesign
• Aligned with student research process.
• Recognize that students use Google,
Wikipedia and other non-academic resources.
• Investigate “push” assistance.
• Provide training at the point-of-need.

12. Paper Prototyping
Creating paper versions
of web assets to define,
develop and test
potential user
interfaces.
Photo: Samuel Mann – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License via Flickr

13. Paper Prototyping Benefits
• Fast imagineering of
potential user interfaces.
• Enables input by less-
technical team members.
• Early feedback by
potential users.
• Low cost.
• Interfaces can be marked
up during user tests and
focus groups.

14. Paper Prototyping Problems
• Limited reality-check.
• Low fidelity
representation of the
actual user
experience.
• At the end of the
process, you still
have to write code.

15. Where We Are
• Imagining the future.
• Sketching interfaces.
• Doing internal
validation.

16. Next Steps
• Create final release “candidates”.
• Internal user tests.
• Iterative tests with users.
• Refining the interface.
• Approval process.
• Project chartering for development.

17. Resources
• Denim – Informal early-stage web design tool -
http://dub.washington.edu:2007/denim/
• Snyder, C. (2003). Paper prototyping, the fast
and easy way to design and refine user
interfaces. Morgan Kaufmann Pub.
• Buxton, B., & Buxton, W. (2007). Sketching
user experiences, getting the design right and
the right design. Morgan Kaufmann.

18. Questions