Prototype Mobile Application – In June 2023, about 90,000 mobile apps were offered in the Google Play Store, and another 36,000 were offered in the Apple App Store. Impressive numbers, right?
The catch is how many of these apps actually achieve significant success? Do yourself a favor because it’s a low 0.01%. Shocking, isn’t it?
Prototype Mobile Application
Now you might be thinking, “What’s stopping the other 99.99% of mobile apps from achieving their dreams?” Is it a funding or business model problem? not really. The most likely cause is a design error!
Mobile Application Prototyping Process
Yes, investment and business strategy play a role, but the heart of the matter is design. Ignoring critical design processes such as prototyping, the early refinement phase of product development, can lead to failure. The result? This can save you a lot of time and greatly improve your chances of success.
So, when it comes to prototyping your mobile app, does it seem daunting? Don’t worry; We are here to simplify the process and help you develop a successful mobile app prototype.
You can successfully build a mobile app prototype in six steps. So here are the steps in logical order to do this.
Before you start solving a problem, it is important to first define the problem. So, whether you’re developing a major product or a prototype of your product, the first step is to specifically define your problem.
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For example, imagine that you believe that existing ride-sharing services in your city do not provide efficient transportation options for commuters. Your goal here is to make a good choice. To achieve this, we need to start by identifying the shortcomings of existing ride-sharing systems.
Next, it’s important to understand the specific needs and preferences of your potential users. You may want to collect data about what passengers want from transportation services, such as accessibility, safety, and reliability. This understanding will serve as the basis for creating a feature set that meets these requirements.
Prototyping is testing the core functionality of your application. Your initial task is to determine what these basic functions are. This first part is similar to setting the stage for creating an effective prototype. It is important to identify the critical functions that need to be represented in the prototype.
This step is important because the whole point of a prototype is to create a quick mock-up of your application that can be tested. Implementing dozens of features will take longer if you have a large number of them. Not to mention, it can overwhelm or confuse users, resulting in misinformation.
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We understand that choosing which features to include in your prototype is not easy. Every function, no matter how small, can seem important, right?
In this case, brainstorm, establish a hierarchy and select the most relevant ideas for your target audience. If you are having trouble choosing between two or more comparable features, it can be helpful to create several prototypes. Use A/B testing to find one that users access most often.
Once you’ve defined the main features of your app, start by creating a low-quality paper prototype. This initial sketch describes the goals of your application without getting into complicated details, recognizing that applications often evolve from their original concepts. Think of it as the starting point of your design and development journey.
This paper prototype, also known as a low-fidelity wireframe, should display the main screens of the application with the basic layout and intended user interface elements. Use arrows or card sorting to indicate user navigation between screens.
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For example, if you’re prototyping an e-commerce app, design a rough layout of the product screen, including placeholders for product images and buttons such as “Checkout.” Then drag an arrow from the “Checkout” button to the checkout screen to display the user experience. At this stage, don’t spend too much time on visual aesthetics.
Since low-fidelity prototypes don’t require much detail, anything related to aesthetics will be counterproductive. The main purpose is to explain the layout and operation of the application screen. You can test and validate initial concepts with paper prototypes. You can quickly build this lightweight prototype and use it to test your ideas.
For a deeper understanding of when to use high or low fidelity, I recommend reading the article “Half-Fidelity Prototyping or Low-Fidelity: Which Should You Choose?” Once you’re happy with your sketch, it’s time to turn it into a more polished prototype.
Once you’ve sketched out your initial ideas on paper, the next step is to create a digital wireframe using a wireframing tool. Here is a detailed guide on creating a mobile app design wireframe:
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Select a wireframe tool. First, choose a wireframing tool that suits your needs. You will find many free and paid options like Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma, Balsamiq and more. Choose someone you feel comfortable with or are willing to learn from.
Create a new project. Start with a new project in the wireframing tool of your choice. Specify device dimensions (eg iPhone 13, Android) to ensure your wireframe fits on the target platform.
Define a basic layout. Start by placing the main components on the canvas so that they represent the main elements of your application. These components include headers, navigation bars, content areas, and footers. Make sure you establish a consistent layout grid and spacing system.
Navigation Structure: Plan and display the application’s navigation structure. Use arrows or lines to show how users move from one screen to another. Create buttons or links that represent navigation elements such as menus, tabs, and buttons.
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Content Placement: Fills wireframes with placeholder content. It can contain text, images and icons. Be sure to label each item with a clear description. Placeholder content helps stakeholders understand the purpose of each screen.
Functional elements: Add interactive elements such as buttons, checkboxes, input fields, and drop-down menus. Specify how they should behave when clicked or interacted with. These interactions provide insight into the functionality of the application.
Annotation and description. Add annotations or descriptions for key elements or interactions. Explain how different features work, provide context, and show any user interactions or changes.
User Flow Diagrams: Create user flow diagrams or user journey maps to show how users navigate your application. Connect the frames with arrows to show a logical progression of screens.
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Feedback and collaboration. Share your mockups with team members, stakeholders, or potential users to get feedback. Most wireframing tools offer support features that allow you to add comments and annotations, making it easy to refine your design.
Iterate and Refine: Based on feedback, iterate your wireframe. Make changes to improve usability, user experience, and overall design clarity. Repeat this process until you have a solid foundation for your mobile app.
Once the wireframe has been tested and approved, the next step is to turn it into a final mobile app design prototype. This step involves filling the wireframe with color, typography, and various visual elements to bring it to life and resemble the final product as much as possible.
To do this, you need to choose a palette of colors, fonts, and other design elements that match your app’s branding and UI guidelines. Once the visuals are ready, it’s time to create a prototype that mimics the actual user experience of the app.
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There are several prototyping tools available, such as InvisionApp and Xcode, that make it easy to create interactive prototypes. These tools allow you to simulate user interactions, conversions and functionality using fake data and placeholders.
This prototype is important to test the usability and functionality of the application before moving into the development phase to ensure a smoother and more user-friendly final product.
Once your prototype is ready, it’s time to share it and share it with your team, stakeholders and users. To do this, you need to cover the following aspects.
This is a great opportunity to get some much needed feedback. Start with usability testing. Be more than just members of the development team. Share it with your HR, accounting and marketing staff. However, the most important group to test with is the end user of your application.
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After gathering critical feedback, you refine your prototype to address your application’s pain points and problems. However, a single iteration will not solve all problems; You must keep repeating.
Stakeholders are primarily your senior management, customers or investors. On the other hand, instead of just showing your work, you should be prepared to give a presentation as there may be a lot of controversy and questions about your choice.
For example, if an investor doubts your design choice, always show data that proves users prefer it over everything else to make it worthwhile. At this point, it’s worth modifying your prototype and making it more attractive to stakeholders.
In the past, prototyping was considered an optional step in the development process. It is now considered an essential component for the success of an application. This process can provide real information that is difficult to obtain by planning and estimating alone.
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These ideas can be very helpful. Combined with a rigorous testing system, prototyping ensures that your application meets user and customer standards.
We hope this post has encouraged you to incorporate prototyping into your future projects. Or if you want
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