Prototyping and Field Evaluation as Risk Mitigation in Mobile Product Development

In order to develop a successful mobile application, it is necessary that the experience fits into people’s lives and solves real problems that they face.  In Motorola Labs, we often finish exploratory ethnographic work with hundreds of design ideas for new mobile experiences.  In order to identify those with the most value, we prototype key components of these ideas and test them with real people in their daily lives.  I’ll talk about our strategies for rapid prototyping and field evaluation using examples from our work on the Ambient Mobile Communications program.

Who:

Frank Bentley is a Principal Staff Research Scientist in the Experiences Research Lab of the Motorola Applied Research and Technology Center in Schaumburg.  He studies how people interact with new communications technology and is involved in all aspects of research projects from early ethonographic-style research through to design, prototyping, field trials, and commercialization.  His research interests lie in the areas of ambient interfaces, mobile computing, and social media.  Frank also teaches a multi-disciplinary class on “Communicating with Mobile Technology” in the Spring at MIT.

Vivek Vaid

http://vivekvaid.blogspot.com

vivek dot vaid at gmail dot com