Experience Prototypes
Experience prototypes implement a service as if it existed to reveal insights about user behavior and desires. They are iterated prototypes which help to refine service designs. Experience prototypes are not video prototypes (scripted scenarios which are edited after the fact to include, for example, non-existent technology or user-interfaces), but they can be documented using video.
If this description sounds vague, it's because there is no hard-and-fast rule about implementing experience prototypes. Essentially, you want to make them as realistic and believable as possible, and the specific circumstances of each experience prototype dictate the level of realism you can achieve. The sooner you can implement experience prototypes into the design process, the faster you will see results and the greater impact they will have on the design process.
An interesting consequence of experience prototypes is that there is no such thing as a failed experience prototype. Something valuable can always be learned from them, either through success or a breakdown in the delivery process. Such judgments should always be made from the point of view of the customer, as the golden rule is that the customer is always right: the service should respond primarily to the needs and desires of the customer, not primarily the needs of the company or service.
More information about the particular experience prototypes we implemented is available in the pop-up windows for the experience prototype videos.
In addition to the experience prototypes, we developed the following aspects of the Fresh Start service using the following design process, which we engaged in simultaneously with the experience prototypes.
Touch-point development
We refined our touch-point designs based on successes and failures during the experience prototypes, using existing technology to quickly implement designs.
For example, during the Fresh Start experience prototypes we implemented a voice channel using existing voice conferencing technology. While ultimately inappropriate for kitchen-use in its current form, the voice conferencing system enabled us to test the feasibility of the idea without having to create a new device.
The experience prototypes also helped refine touch-points such as the recipes and delivery boxes. We noticed during one experience prototype that the participant used the delivery box as a garbage, which gave us the idea (not implemented) for collecting compost when picking up the boxes for reuse.
The recipe design proved particularly difficult, as typical recipes tend to include instructions as part of the ingredients list (1 cup chopped onions). Significant changes were sometimes required to make the recipes usable in the Fresh Start cooking context.
The removable stickers were another aspect of the recipe that evolved over the course of running the experience prototypes. Initially, participants were supplied with only one-half of the recipe, which left them with a useless recipe at the end of the exercise.
The solution was to cover one-half of the recipe with a removable sticker. After cooking, the participants could remove the sticker and gain access to the complete recipe, which they could then add to a growing recipe book. After implementing the sticker concept, we took it a step further and used the sticker as the comment card, which participants could use to send feedback to the service.
Target audience refinement
Experience prototypes helped to focus the target audience, revealing, for example, that the service interested women more than men.
This gender-split may have been a side-effect of our design process, as all of the interview subjects were women. While the unintended side-effects of our design process are something to pay attention to when engaging in future projects, their effect on this particular project was not noticeable.
Interestingly, the experience prototypes proved invaluable when convincing audiences of the service's potential.
Speaking from personal experience, I (Dave) was not sure the idea of shared cooking was viable, but my two partners (both women) thought it had great potential. After running the experience prototype, I became a believer. We encountered the same kind of resistance during crits, but the video documentation of the experience prototypes succeeded at winning over the audience.
Piggybacking on existing services
We looked for potential partnerships with existing products and services as a means of more easily implementing our service.
For example, instead of developing a delivery service from the ground-up, we looked for existing people and services with excess capacity and down-time. Or perhaps restaurant kitchens could be used for food preparation during slower periods of the day.
Although the particular partners in service implementation may vary, the basic principle remains. Partners gain benefit from realizing additional revenue through the partnership, while the service gains the experience and expertise of the partner.
Stakeholder development
As we developed our service concept, we looked for ways to create win-win situations for everyone involved with the delivery of our service. Stakeholder development was closely aligned with discovering new ways of piggybacking the service.
We identified those stakeholders critical to our service's delivery and those which might change based on particular implementations.
For example, the stakeholders depicted in the illustration below were developed based on the unique circumstances we found in Ivrea, Italy. "Exotic goods" in Ivrea included items such as coconut milk, which obviously would not be an issue in New York City.
Business development
Along with stakeholders and existing services, we looked at different infrastructure options to determine the most viable solutions.
The primary concern throughout the design process was the customer experience. Given a particular effect we wanted to achieve (home delivery), a variety of fulfillment methods might be appropriate based on the specific circumstances of the service delivery.
Economic realities shape design as much as customer acceptance, and striking a balance between what needs to happen and the best way of making it happen requires the participation of people with a broad range of expertise: legal, financial, information technology, dietitians, cooks, grocers, and so forth.
In the end, the only way the Fresh Start service can be successful is if it makes money.