Compare product concepts
See this course’s project requirements
A product design case study with a need brief, concept comparison, prototype, access review, simulated usability log, and evidence-linked revision.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- A product-need brief with simulated observations, a task-centered statement, constraints, and a success measure.
- A three-concept comparison with a selected prototype, two decision criteria, and a switching condition.
- A versioned low-risk reminder prototype with fictional content, a text description, and a core task sequence.
- An access-review note with three corrected barriers, a text alternative, and explicit untested areas.
- A neutral usability script and simulated observation log with a 60% unassisted completion result and issue notes.
- A product design case study with a three-version history, evidence-linked changes, and an honest next-test plan.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Need and concept reasoning: distinguishes simulated observations from assumptions and compares three functionally different concepts against the same task and constraints.
- Prototype and access continuity: preserves the fictional content across named versions, documents obvious access improvements, and distinguishes paper review from untested digital behavior.
- Test integrity: uses a neutral voluntary test script, keeps assisted completion separate, computes three of five as 60%, and labels the records simulated rather than customer research.
- Evidence-linked iteration: connects each Version 2 change to a specific tested issue, preserves the version history, and states that the revision still needs a new test.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
Generating alternatives helps separate the underlying need from your first idea. Concepts should differ in how they work, not only in color. A short comparison can examine access, clarity, effort, and dependence on other systems. The goal is to select something inexpensive to test, while keeping the reasons and remaining uncertainties visible.
Compare how each idea serves the task under the same constraints.
One step at a time.
Use the sample or information you have permission to use. Keep your work as you go. You can pause between steps.
- 1
Produce three rough concepts using words, boxes, or simple sketches. Keep the return task constant while changing the format or interaction; avoid spending time on decoration before comparing how the ideas work.
- 2
Create a table for clarity, device dependence, available space, production effort, and possible access barriers. Record one strength and one limitation for each concept using only the supplied case facts.
- 3
Choose two criteria that matter most for this first test and explain why. Use a simple ranked comparison if useful, but do not treat invented scores as measured customer preferences or market demand.
- 4
Pick one idea and name the assumption it will test. Keep another as a backup. Write what evidence would make you switch.
See how it works.
Fictional practice: Dev sketches three reminders: a folded paper card, a phone screenshot, and a small sticker for the drawing-kit case. The paper card works without a device but can be lost. The screenshot is easy to enlarge but assumes access to a phone and a way to receive it. The sticker travels with the kit but has limited writing space. Dev chooses a paper card for the first prototype and retains the screenshot as a possible alternative. The decision uses task clarity and device independence as criteria, not a claim that users prefer paper. Each sketch uses the same invented return details.
Did you cover these?
- Three formats work differently
- Each has a strength and limitation
- Selection includes an assumption and switching condition
What to finish
A three-concept comparison with a selected prototype, two decision criteria, and a switching condition.
Watch for this
Calling cosmetic variants three distinct concepts or presenting imagined scores as user evidence.
How can I tell I understand it?
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Sources and further reading
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Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Opened the public resource page and read its description of empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test modes. Page displays CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. No cards, exercises, illustrations, or syllabus are copied; no Stanford affiliation is claimed.
Access: Public reading verified without an account; optional further reading, no paid course or certificate required.
Reuse: Reference only; original Life Starter explanations and practice. Public access is not permission to copy materials or logos.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read human-centered design concepts, multiple iterations, prototype feedback, expertise limits, and participant roles. The fictional practice protocol is original and does not reproduce government templates.
Access: Public reading verified without an account; optional further reading, no paid course or certificate required.
Reuse: Reference only; original Life Starter explanations and practice. Public access is not permission to copy materials or logos.
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