Hello, and welcome to the bottom up skills podcast I might pass since I'm the CEO of hollow tents. And we are talking success factors of rapid prototyping. We are, I think we're more than half way through this series on rapid prototyping. And prior to this, we've done a lot of very specific practical, sort of granular level stuff about rapid prototyping.

Now we're going to kind of elevate the discussion a little bit and talk about some of the fundamental principles. You have to adhere to when you're rapid prototyping. So, um, some of these I've covered throughout the series, I've tried to then package them up. I've added a few, uh, tips and tricks that are gonna help you succeed.

And I think this is really, this is a little bit the coaches, uh, prep talk before the big game. These are the [00:01:00] key things to have in mind. If we want to win at rapid prototyping, this is how you do it. Okay. So there's kind of four principles that will set you up for success with rapid prototyping and without them, the.

The result, it really diminishes if you're not doing some of these things. Um, and so this, this to me is just some of the essential things to have in mind. So here we go. Number one, direct experience. Number two, always be testing and learning. Three create compound effects. And number four is create user to use a recruitment.

Okay, I'm going to break those down and zip through them. Let's go through the first one direct experience. It is just so essential that you create a moment that looks like, feels like as close to how people would [00:02:00] use the product, the finished product in real life. So it's got to stimulate their, their senses.

You've got to give them a task. You've got to evoke this direct experience said differently. Please do not allow your rapid prototyping session fall into some sales chitchat. I'm pitching your idea. Sound good. You're not pitching. You're creating a direct experience. It really tests the idea. Don't just talk about it or guess this is not a PowerPoint conversation.

This is rapid prototyping. So that's number one direct experience. Testing and learning. I mean, the key question in between two rapid prototyping tests is, okay, what did we just learn? And what are we doing next? It's just so fundamental. If you can keep this positive forward momentum, you'll find that the velocity of your learning is absolutely fantastic.

Now. The way to test and learn is really based [00:03:00] off this last previous idea of direct experience. But if you have created the direct experience, there'll be so much to learn. And after you've tested with the user and to see if they could complete a task, you can, of course you can ask them questions, but again, don't try and lead the witness, try and be like Sherlock Holmes, asked the important questions and be thoughtful and really push yourself.

To always update change. I grow your prototype between tests. That will be a great way for you to continue your rate of learning. Now, the next thing is compound effects. You got to do lots of tests. You've got to do them close together and whatever, if there's just one idea here that that's important for you to take out is, do not have a couple of tests today.

And then wait another week for another couple of tests because you just, you got really, you're just making life so hard for yourself. Cause you have to try and remember. What did we learn last week? Where did we start off? [00:04:00] And you just get back in the groove and before, you know, you're finished again, you know, if, if you want to maximize compound effects, do four sprints of testing each day, two days in a row, and you will have an abundance of insight.

Okay. So it's all about compounding things as close together, getting that compound interest really short times between your tests and making sure that you move as fast as possible. Now use it to user recruitment. One of my favorite topics here. If you've got a product it's really starting to come together and you think, well, that was looking pretty good.

I think we don't need to test too much more. Aha. Gotcha. Yes you do. If it is really that good, then what you do is you asked a user who's just used your rapid prototyping, uh, experienced as they've used the prototype, they completed the task, then you say, okay, we would like you. To present and introduce this to a new user.

And just do it [00:05:00] all in your own words and what will be really interesting. You'll see how they have actually processed and synthesize the experience. They'll use it a lot of metaphors and analogies you might not have thought of, but this is a fantastic way to see how users might pitch other users to come and joining the experience.

So these are the four principles. If you're not doing these four I'd experienced test and learn compound effects and use it to use it. If you're not doing those. You won't get as much out of your time, rapid prototyping. Now I've got a whole bucket of tips and tricks here. I'm just going to pick a couple of quick ones that I like.

Um, one of em, it's, don't lead the witness. Um, what I find over the years is that the general nature of folks is to pitch the user the idea rather than letting the user test it. So don't lead the witness. That's advice. Number one, number two. You know, there's a couple of good ones in this box, focus on what [00:06:00] you learn, and there is no wrong I'm going to go with.

There is no wrong, you know, I think it's really important to, to go in with all sorts of ideas and possibilities may be spontaneously. You might get something unforeseen, a little bit of serendipity. Um, Yeah. I think sometimes when people hear about a test, they think about, you know, compliance or something like that.

No, there's really no wrong here because, you know, One of the ways I think about when a user doesn't like, uh, a feature and it's confirmed by several users while I'm like, great. We saved ourselves the time of building a feature that they don't want. I mean, that's, that's a good way to think about it. Um, so yeah, there is no wrong just go in and be positive.

Be open. Last one here is balanced. You're talking and doing ratio. Um, people really get it into rapid prototyping and, and doing sprint sessions and. There can be a lot of talking. And like, uh, one of the things [00:07:00] I see is, you know, a small group tests where the user, the user goes back to the green room so they can get ready.

And then they talk for like 10 minutes about what they just tested. And I'm like, okay. What did you learn? What are you doing next? Just be mindful that when you're rapid prototyping, you want to create as many prototypes. You want to test as many prototypes with as many users as possible. And we all have a habit of getting pretty excited and talking a bunch.

And then that just means you're not doing. So there you have it. Um, for principles, a couple of quick tips to set you up for success with rapid prototyping, you can see the entire list of tips and tricks for rapid prototyping [email protected]. Make sure you get the, uh, Rapid prototyping masterclass and so free.

No charge. Just jump in there. You can get the deck. You can enjoy a real deep dive into rapid prototyping. So I hope you've got your success factors locked in and that's a wrap for this episode [00:08:00] of the bottom up skills podcast.