Prototyping of applications: Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi. Differences and applications.

Low-Fidelity (Lo-Fi) Application Prototyping

Low-fidelity application prototyping is a quick and easy way to translate design concepts. The primary and most important role of Low-Fidelity prototypes is to check and test functionality rather than the appearance of the product.

Applications of Low-Fidelity Prototypes:

• Visual Design: Only select visual attributes of the final product are presented (such as shapes of elements, basic visual hierarchy, etc.).
• Content: Only key content elements are included.
• Interactivity: The prototype can be simulated by a real person. During a testing session, a specific person familiar with the design acts as the computer and manually changes the project’s state in real time. Interactivity can also be created based on wireframes, also known as “connected wireframes.”

Benefits of Low-Fidelity Application Prototyping:

• Engagement of All Stakeholders: Involves all stakeholders in the design process. Anyone can sketch (even those who claim they cannot), meaning everyone can build paper prototypes.
• Early Testing: Early prototype testing allows product teams to identify issues from a broad perspective—such as unclear information architecture—before they become too difficult to solve.
• Rapid Experimentation: Different user interface elements can be drawn, cut out, and copied to create additions, then assembled on a new sheet of paper. Simple prototypes can also mimic complex interactions.

High-Fidelity (Hi-Fi) Application Prototyping

High-fidelity application prototyping operates in a way that closely resembles the actual product. Teams typically create high-fidelity prototypes when they have a clear understanding of what they intend to build and need either to test it with real users or to obtain final design approval from stakeholders.
 

Applications of High-Fidelity Prototypes:

• Visual Design: Realistic and detailed design— all interface elements, spacing, and graphics appear like a real application or website.
• Content: Designers use actual or realistic-sounding content. The prototype contains most or all of the content that will appear in the final design.
• Interactivity: Prototypes are very realistic in terms of interactions.

Benefits of High-Fidelity Prototyping:

• Quick Feedback: Hi-Fi prototypes often look like real products to users. This means that during usability testing sessions, test participants will behave more naturally—as if they were interacting with an actual product.
• Testability of Specific UI Elements or Interactions: Due to the high interactivity, graphical elements such as affordances or specific interactions like animated transitions and microinteractions can be tested.
• Easier Idea Visualization: This type of prototype is also suitable for presentations to stakeholders. It provides clients and potential investors with a clear picture of how the product should function. An excellent high-fidelity prototype generates excitement about the design in a way that a low-fidelity prototype cannot, with its bare-bones structure.

Source:The Blog Adobe
 

See also: Why User Flow is an Important Step in Designing User Experience Strategy.
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