QUID: a quick user-interface design method using prototyping tools

Experience with prototyping tools for user interfaces indicates that just providing tools does not solve the problem of producing useful interfaces. Rapid prototyping is a design method for user interface development that emphasizes usability. However, it is a bottom-up approach and thus in inherent conflict with more traditional software engineering techniques, which are top-down and specification-driven. The solution is to integrate both approaches in a single method. The quick user interface design (QUID) method is a user-centered method that is particularly useful for producing an initial prototype so that iterations of the prototype/test loop can begin from as good a design as possible. The method is a refinement of participatory design, adapted specifically for use with interface prototyping tools. In practice, the authors have observed novice designers use this method quickly to produce prototypes that are useful because the method promotes systematic attention to users