Immerse > High Fidelity Prototype
Why
High fidelity prototypes take us as close as possible to an accurate representation of the application’s user interfaces and interactions. It is a computer-based interactive representation of the product closest to the final design in terms of details and functionality. The hi-fi prototypes cover the user interface (UI) of the product in terms of visuals and aesthetics, and the user experience (UX) aspects in terms of interactions, user flow, and behavior.
The main purpose of interactive prototypes is their use in the usability testing of the product, and to have target users validate it. It is important to test our product before launching it in the market to foresee any issues or failures. Getting the most out of the feedback can be done with a prototype that is closest to the final product in its detail and functionality.
In addition to validating designs, interactive prototypes can be used for presentations and pitches, when we want to communicate the designs and functionalities of our product to our team members, clients, or other stakeholders in the project. When the functional build of the software is not developed, a high fidelity prototype does the job very well.
How
To create a good high-fidelity prototype, the following prerequisites are vital to achieve a quality outcome:
- Prepare required visuals and user flows.
- Identify all the transitions and animations needed between different objects or screens.
- Choose the right tool for the requirements.
You can compare the pros and cons of different types of tools to create a high-fidelity prototype online. It is important to note that when choosing the most optimal prototyping tool, you need to base your decisions on practical considerations:
- Aesthetics of the produced prototype, in terms of visuals and interactions, give a native feeling of how fluid the animations are, and so on.
- The availability of established interaction models in the software to drag and drop to create your prototypes quickly.
- Handling of assets, like syncing with popular cloud-based platforms, ease of storing and searching assets in the software, and ease of updating all instances when changing the source asset.
- Compatibility with Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, or any of your favorite tools to generate visuals.
- Ability to preview your prototypes across different-sized devices and platforms.
- Playback speed.
- Publishing capabilities to enable sharing with your clients and other stakeholders.
- Availability of a library with common UI elements to aid creating quick screens.
- Collaboration, in terms of allowing colleagues or others to comment or provide feedback on features.