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playbook

welcome to

PROTOTYPE
THINKING

find the right design

create a magic moment

test what matters

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Prototype Thinking is a process + toolkit for taking a product, service, process, or other solution:

→ from early conception  
→ to having a clearly designed right-answer solution 

→ using our optimized, tactical user testing tools

→ that anyone can learn without additional skill or expertise

Every project is filled with big, existential uncertainties:

  • Do people even want this?

  • We have a broad idea, but it could go 17 different ways; which direction is the right one?

  • What is the heart of the solution that users will love and come back to again and again?

  • We have a vision for the final ecosystem, but what’s the right first step?

  • What does the solution literally look like?

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The Prototype Thinking process is your systematic, data-driven, user-centric toolkit to answer these questions quickly and reliably -- before investing down the wrong path.

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how it works

THE TOOLKIT

We build with you, not for you! Afterwards, anyone on your team can do it themselves without us.

Prototype Thinking specializes in the tactical nitty-gritty of early stage testing & iteration.

It can be done on its own, or as a complement to an existing design / agile / innovation process.

User Recruitment & Testing Planning
  • How to get any user to test with you

  • Which users, how many, how friendly, etc

  • Enterprise/saas - sales-friendly user testing

  • Exact scripts

Confidence
  • Identify your biggest existential questions

  • Solve the most load-bearing risks first

  • Create an experiment roadmap

  • Bring stakeholders to your side of the table and add their perspective to the experiment roadmap

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Experiment Playbook
  • Step by step experiment builder

  • Test a dozen ideas at the same time

  • Build what matters, ignore the rest

  • Directly target the most important vulnerabilities

  • Turn your questions user-side-out for accurate results

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Dynamic User Testing
  • Behavioral results, not just verbal opinion

  • Dozens of dynamic, real-time changes in collaboration with the user

  • How to receive and recognize accurate vs unreliable insights & feedback

  • Leading indicator signals to look for

  • User instruction scripts

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Synthesis & Pivot
  • How to pivot

  • Understanding aggregated user feedback

  • Turning insights into prioritized action

  • Identifying key strategic decisions

  • Redesign & additional experiment strategy

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The most exciting cycle is actually the second one, because we can ideate from data!

why it works

THE PROCESS

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1) increase confidence, decrease risk

In order to inevitably reach the right answer every time, we need to:

  • thoroughly build understanding of the solution space

  • map all options

  • systematically eliminate risk

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*Timeline note: Most teams prefer to do Prototype Thinking part time, concurrent with other responsibilities. A typical part-time sprint will take 1-2 months (consumer) or 2-3 months (enterprise), where timeline is mostly dictated by scheduling.

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2) test all ideas and 5x more variables by using a fraction of the effort

The real purpose of experimenting is not to fail fast, but to pivot fast.​

 

When we optimize tests for pivoting, we can cut 95% of the effort by building an optimal experiment that tests only the most load-bearing risk first.

example loadbearing risk: will people want to drive a car?
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3) find the magic moment

Solutions impactful enough to truly create behavior change will show up as at least a 3-point improvement on our Impact Value Scale. (Fun fact: 1 or 2 points better is nice but is simply not good enough to overcome habit and drive adoption.)

 

This “magic moment” will show up in user behavioral signals during a test. Once we find it, the magic moment becomes the heart of the deisgn.

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4a) cross the pre-tangible stage...

Every project has phase called the Pre-Tangible Stage. It occurs between the idea and the execution, and can sometimes trap a project team for years.

 

When a team is struggling in this stage, it looks like this:

  • there too many possibilities and not sure which one to pick

  • the situation is complex and interdependent, so it’s hard to make a commitment

  • it seems like there are tons of potential things to do, but none of them come next

  • discussions & debates go in circles over weeks

  • you feel stuck and busy at the same time: you keep designing and designing but never seem done

  • you feel like you’re still waiting to understand how to do a good job

  • the search for product/market fit seems to drag on forever

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4b) ... by trying to get only 15% more confident through rapid testing

On a scale of 0% to 100%, how confident are you that your current best guess is the right answer? (10%? 30%? 80%?)

 

No matter how hard we work or how well we plan, it is only possible to improve Confidence by 10–20% at a time. By quickly coming back to users over and over, we can reach high confidence much more easily in bite-sized increments.

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5) 80% of work should be fun and meaningful

In the presence of lots of unknowns and risk, the void of confident, data-informed design gets filled by stakeholder management.

 

The ultra-early testing data we get means:

  • we bring user-driven data into every conversation

  • teams use most of their time on creative work and listening, not reporting

  • meetings propel productivity forward

  • discussion is for pivotal strategic choices, not hypothetical directions

 

80% of prototype thinking work is active workshops, meaningful choices, or direct execution. Tedium is just a signal that we are solving the wrong problem.

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like your business, every solution is unique. schedule a half hour call to discuss your needs, and together we'll come up with a custom plan that will get the results you're looking for.

talk to us

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