Which Prototype?

PREPARE THE EXERCISE

To do this exercise, you and your team need a well-defined concept to test whether it solves the challenge at hand appropriately. By well-defined is meant that you:

• Have a clear understanding of the problem and needs to address.
• Have a clear hypothesis about what needs the concept or idea should address and for whom.

It is highly recommended that you have a developed concept note at hand to scope your concept and form the basis of your test plan. 
Use the overall test plan template in the sidebar to fill out with your team as you move through this exercise. Adjust the test template if needed to match your test objectives.

Assign a colleague as notetaker so you can concentrate on facilitating. 

Face-to-face: Write out the agreed concept to test on a flipchart. If you have prepared a concept note, print it out for all participants or display in a space visible to all. 

Online: Prepare the agreed concept to test/concept note using Miro. Encourage participants to familiarise themselves with the chosen online platform. You can share this short video tutorial (3 min).

What exactly do you want to test?

Introduce the team to the timeframe and the purpose of the exercise:

• What are we going to do today?
• Why are they invited?
• What are their roles (if participants do not know each other well)?
• What is the timeframe?

Move on by briefing your team on the following: Prototypes are usually applied at three overlapping stages:

1.    A rough concept: The concept needs overall validation, and several aspects and assumptions of the proposed solution need to be better understood.

2.    A refined concept: The concept solution is well defined, but still needs validation of a few aspects.

3.    A concept needing final validation: Solution is close to final and ready for a pilot, minor validation and feedback on details are needed.

Use this diagram to discuss what you would like to learn depending on the maturity of your concept:

Prototyping can have different fidelity depending on what you wish to test about your concept, as illustrated above.

Example: If you simply want to test an overall concept – for example, whether a target community would like a certain service delivered in a proposed new way – sketching something out on paper may be sufficient to get feedback on the relevance. However, if you want to gain a deeper understanding of what specifically should be tweaked about a concrete service solution to best solve the needs of the community, and how they will interact with it, a more detailed and concrete prototype is needed, such as a proper mock-up, a roleplay, or simulation.

Take turns reflecting on the maturity of your concept and the most valuable things to learn at current stage. End this step with summing up the discussion.

Allow approximately 20 minutes for this step.

Facilitator tips 
As you move through the testing steps of your concept, you can shift to developing more advanced prototypes for increasingly deeper levels of feedback (e.g., starting with a sketch and ending in a simulation). In other instances, depending on the novelty of the concept, one type of prototype and fewer rounds of testing may suffice. 

SET LEARNING QUESTIONS

Based on the discussion within the group, ask the participants to develop around five learning questions that will guide the testing of your concept. 

Learning questions should test uncertainties and assumptions about the idea or concept. They could be:

• Are we all internally aligned on the concept now we have made it tangible (e.g., sketched it out in detail)? If not, what do we need to align and validate?
• Is there something about, or someone around, the concept missing or redundant that we need to adjust? What specifically is it?
• Does a proposed solution effectively address the specific need(s) of the targeted community? If not, which part(s) of the solution specifically needs to be redesigned based on the community feedback
• What can be learnt about the feasibility of the solution in the longer term? Is the solution robust and relevant enough to be tested in a pilot project? Could there be any negative impacts, or do we risk doing harm? Do we have the right people on board?
• Is there sufficient evidence that the solution will achieve the desired impact in a sustainable manner? What is the required evidence to specifically validate impact potential?

The more specific the learning questions are, the better results you will get. The number of questions depend on the complexity and novelty of the solution, its implementation context, and the partners involved.

Ask the team to insert the learning questions in a test plan, for example, using the template available on the right hand side. 

Sum up the discussions and ask the notetaker to enter/write the learning questions in the test plan.

Allow 30–45 minutes for this step.

Facilitator tips
Testing does not have to take long – the process depends on what you wish to test and learn. It may take 2 hours or several days. Be pragmatic and set realistic goals. It is much better to do some testing with a few participants and get some feedback, as opposed to than getting no/poor feedback because ambitions are too high.

If your participant group is large, consider dividing into smaller groups/break-out rooms. If you do so, appoint someone to report back to the entire group, when summing up and consolidating feedback.

SELECT WHO TO TEST WITH

Now that you have agreed what elements of your concept you want to test, it is time to identify who to test it with. 

The maturity of the concept, and what you wish to learn, define who you should test the concept with. It could be sufficient to test it with a few colleagues or partners outside the project team, or maybe you need to test it with target community members to for more relevant feedback.

Following considerations can guide that decision:

• Who is best positioned to give relevant feedback to improve the concept to ensure maximum impact? Are there any ethical or cultural concerns? If so, could proxy participants be identified (e.g., someone with in-depth understanding of needs being addressed)?
• Who would we like to engage to participate in the project in the longer-term? Getting their feedback early on can be extremely valuable to create co-ownership and ensure long-term buy-in and sustainability.
• How many people/groups do we need to test with to get adequate feedback? For example, if we chose the appropriate test participants, it can often be enough to test with 5–8 participants to get feedback on relevance and accuracy. But to understand how representative the feedback is, more data would needed.
• Who and how many people/groups do we need to test the concept with to get adequate answers to the learning questions?
• What is feasible to do given the available resources (time, money, accessibility, etc.)? What is the minimum we could do to get relevant feedback? Can we combine it with other activities or field trips?

Test participants could be:

• Targeted community members.
• Volunteers.
• Community-Based Organisations (CBOs).
• Partners (Movement and non-Movement).
• (I)NGOs or UN.
• Local authorities.
• Local change agents.
• Religious leaders.
• Co-workers.
• Local private sector.

Now, insert the chosen test participants in your test plan.

Take turns reflecting on who to test with, guided by the questions above (spend a few minutes on each question). You can add more guiding questions if needed. As a group, agree on the test participants. 
Sum up discussions and have the notetaker enter/write the chosen test participants in the test plan.

Allow 15–20 minutes for this step.

Facilitator tips
Be creative when it comes to engaging test participants. Most people are busy, so see if tests can be combined with other plans, or if alternative participants can be identified in case the desired persons are unavailable. But keep in mind that, if expectations are managed well, most people like to be engaged and asked about their opinion if they feel it will be used constructively. Testing can be a beneficial part of communication about your project. Remember to apply a protection, gender, and inclusion lens when identifying test participants. If in doubt about relevance and appropriateness, consult your protection, gender, and inclusion advisor and/or your community engagement and accountability advisor. 

Again, be pragmatic and set realistic ambitions, it is much better to do some testing with a few and get feedback than getting none because ambitions are too high.

DECIDE ON YOUR PROTOTYPE TEST APPROACH

Now that you have identified your learning questions and who you would like to test with, it is time to choose which method is the most appropriate to learn what you need. 

Discuss the following questions:

• Based on the learning questions, how tangible do we need to make the prototype providing the best results? Is a sketch enough or do we need a full-scale simulation, or is it something in between
• What specifically do we want test participants to do during the test (e.g., see something, feel something, try something, experience something)?
• What are the resources we have at hand (time, money, people available, etc.)?
• Which ethical and cultural considerations must be applied?
• How can we engage key stakeholders in the design of the concept, while still ensuring expectation management with partners and the communities we work with?

Discuss which prototype approach would best suit your testing needs. Sum up discussions and have the notetaker enter/write the approach in the test plan.
The three prototype categories to choose from are:

1. You have a rough concept: Paper prototypes (e.g., sketching) or cardboard prototyping.
2. You have a refined concept: Simple simulation through roleplay or a basic physical model/life size (e.g., a new type of handwashing station), interactive prototypes (e.g., a digital clickable mock-up app), or simulation.
3. You have a concept needing final validation: The concept is safe and ethical to test in a real implementation context: Sophisticated simulations, high fidelity mock-ups with close to finalised appearance and/or content.

This list is not exhaustive and prototype categories and concept maturity combinations are fluid, only creativity sets the limit. The below illustration can help guide your discussions.

Insert/write the chosen test approach in your test plan. 

You can find tools for paper prototyping and simulation prototyping approaches that you can use to activate your test plan. 

Next step: When you have identified your prototype test approach, it is time for your concept or solution to meet the world. Remember to thank the participants for their time and their insights.

Allow approximately 30 minutes for this step.