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Design methods: sketching, prototyping and critique glossary

44 terms from R07, Design methods II: sketching, prototyping and critique — 22 defined in the guide itself and 22 more from the field around it. Every term the guide teaches links to the slide that teaches it.

The whole craft glossary

R07 · What to build

Design methods II: sketching, prototyping and critique

What is the cheapest way to find out if this idea works?

Every term below is defined in the words of design methods: sketching, prototyping and critique, guide R07 of craft guides for educational technologists, and opens the guide at the slide where it is taught. 22 of the 44 are the field’s vocabulary rather than the guide’s own: words a reader will meet around this subject, defined here because the guide assumes them. 5 terms are also defined by another guide in the series; where the two differ, both wordings are given. The whole craft glossary holds all of them together.

TermDefinitionReferred to inRead further
A
Austin's Butterfly

An EL Education film in which first-grade students use critique to help a classmate take a scientific drawing of a butterfly through several drafts (Berger et al., 2014).

  • Berger, R., Rugen, L., & Woodfin, L. (2014). Leaders of their own learning: Transforming schools through student-engaged assessment. Jossey-Bass. wiley.com
  • Berger, R. (2003). An ethic of excellence: Building a culture of craftsmanship with students. Heinemann. heinemann.com
B
Bodystorming

Generating and trying out ideas by acting them out physically, ideally in the place where the product will be used.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Oulasvirta, A., Kurvinen, E., & Kankainen, T. (2003). Understanding contexts by being there: Case studies in bodystorming. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 7(2), 125–134. doi
C
Clickable prototype

Linked screens that respond to taps or clicks but have no working logic behind them.

  • Houde, S., & Hill, C. (1997). What do prototypes prototype? In M. Helander, T. K. Landauer, & P. Prabhu (Eds.), Handbook of human-computer interaction (2nd ed., pp. 367–381). Elsevier. doi
  • Rudd, J., Stern, K., & Isensee, S. (1996). Low vs. high-fidelity prototyping debate. Interactions, 3(1), 76–85. doi
Coded prototype

Working software built to answer a question, not to production standards.

  • Government Digital Service. (2016). Making prototypes. GOV.UK Service Manual. gov.uk
  • Rudd, J., Stern, K., & Isensee, S. (1996). Low vs. high-fidelity prototyping debate. Interactions, 3(1), 76–85. doi
  • Walker, M., Takayama, L., & Landay, J. A. (2002). High-fidelity or low-fidelity, paper or computer? Choosing attributes when testing web prototypes. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 46(5), 661–665. doi
Container

The screens, navigation and controls that hold a learning product's content.

Content design

Meeting a user need with the right content, in the right format and place (Winters, 2019).

R20 The practice of helping people quickly find out what they need to know or do, a test of the reader's position after the message, not of the sender's activity before it (Government Digital Service, n.d.-e).

Content prototype

A real lesson, task or worked example, tried with learners, to test the content itself.

  • Tripp, S. D., & Bichelmeyer, B. (1990). Rapid prototyping: An alternative instructional design strategy. Educational Technology Research and Development, 38(1), 31–44. doi
  • Richards, S. (2017). Content design. Content Design London. contentdesign.london
Crazy Eights

A sketching exercise in which each person folds a sheet into eight panels and draws eight variations of an idea in eight minutes.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Knapp, J., Zeratsky, J., & Kowitz, B. (2016). Sprint: How to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days. Simon & Schuster.
Critical Response Process

A four-step critique protocol that puts the maker's questions before responders' opinions (Lerman, n.d.).

  • Lerman, L. (n.d.). Critical Response Process. Liz Lerman. Retrieved September 18, 2026, from lizlerman.com
  • Lerman, L., & Borstel, J. (2003). Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process: A method for getting useful feedback on anything you make, from dance to dessert. Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.
Critique

Analysis of whether a design is expected to achieve its goals (Connor, 2016).

  • Connor, A., & Irizarry, A. (2015). Discussing design: Improving communication and collaboration through critique. O'Reilly Media. oreilly.com
  • Connor, A. (2016). 3 kinds of feedback. Discussing Design, Medium. medium.com
D
Design fixation

Blind adherence to a set of ideas that limits the options a designer considers (Jansson & Smith, 1991).

  • Jansson, D. G., & Smith, G. M. (1991). Design fixation. Design Studies, 12(1), 3–11. doi
  • Purcell, A. T., & Gero, J. S. (1996). Design and other types of fixation. Design Studies, 17(4), 363–383. doi
Design review

A meeting held to approve a design or check it against requirements before it moves on. It is a gate, unlike a critique, which aims to improve work still in progress.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Connor, A., & Irizarry, A. (2015). Discussing design: Improving communication and collaboration through critique. O'Reilly Media. oreilly.com
Design space

The full set of possible designs for a problem. Sketches and prototypes are ways of exploring it before settling on one region.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Lim, Y.-K., Stolterman, E., & Tenenberg, J. (2008). The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 15(2), Article 7. doi
  • Buxton, B. (2007). Sketching user experiences: Getting the design right and the right design. Morgan Kaufmann. books.google.com
Design sprint

A five-day process in which a small team maps a problem, sketches solutions, picks one, builds a realistic prototype and tests it with five users.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Knapp, J., Zeratsky, J., & Kowitz, B. (2016). Sprint: How to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days. Simon & Schuster.
Design studio

A workshop in which a mixed team sketches ideas individually, presents and critiques them, then converges on a shared design over several rounds.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Gothelf, J., & Seiden, J. (2013). Lean UX: Applying lean principles to improve user experience. O'Reilly Media.
Direction

Feedback that tells a designer what to change, usually without a reason tied to a goal.

  • Connor, A. (2016). 3 kinds of feedback. Discussing Design, Medium. medium.com
  • Connor, A., & Irizarry, A. (2015). Discussing design: Improving communication and collaboration through critique. O'Reilly Media. oreilly.com
Dot voting

A quick way for a group to narrow options: each person gets a few sticky dots and places them on the ideas they favour.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Gray, D., Brown, S., & Macanufo, J. (2010). Gamestorming: A playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and changemakers. O'Reilly Media.
  • Knapp, J., Zeratsky, J., & Kowitz, B. (2016). Sprint: How to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days. Simon & Schuster.
E
Economic principle

The best prototype makes an idea's possibilities and limits visible in the simplest, most efficient way (Lim et al., 2008).

  • Lim, Y.-K., Stolterman, E., & Tenenberg, J. (2008). The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 15(2), Article 7. doi
  • Rudd, J., Stern, K., & Isensee, S. (1996). Low vs. high-fidelity prototyping debate. Interactions, 3(1), 76–85. doi
Evolutionary prototype

A prototype built to be kept and refined, round by round, until it becomes the product.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Tripp, S. D., & Bichelmeyer, B. (1990). Rapid prototyping: An alternative instructional design strategy. Educational Technology Research and Development, 38(1), 31–44. doi
  • Floyd, C. (1984). A systematic look at prototyping. In R. Budde, K. Kuhlenkamp, L. Mathiassen, & H. Züllighoven (Eds.), Approaches to prototyping (pp. 1–18). Springer. doi
Exemplar

A strong piece of finished work shown to learners before they begin, so they can see and discuss what quality looks like.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Berger, R. (2003). An ethic of excellence: Building a culture of craftsmanship with students. Heinemann. heinemann.com
  • Berger, R., Rugen, L., & Woodfin, L. (2014). Leaders of their own learning: Transforming schools through student-engaged assessment. Jossey-Bass. wiley.com
Experience prototyping

Any representation, in any medium, that lets designers, users or clients go through a future situation themselves instead of being told about it.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Buchenau, M., & Fulton Suri, J. (2000). Experience prototyping. In Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 424–433). ACM. doi
F
Fidelity

How close a prototype is to the finished product in look, behaviour and content.

R21 The degree to which a programme is delivered as designed.

  • Rudd, J., Stern, K., & Isensee, S. (1996). Low vs. high-fidelity prototyping debate. Interactions, 3(1), 76–85. doi
  • Sims, S., Fletcher-Wood, H., O'Mara-Eves, A., Cottingham, S., Stansfield, C., Van Herwegen, J., & Anders, J. (2021). What are the characteristics of effective teacher professional development? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Education Endowment Foundation. files.eric.ed.gov
  • Walker, M., Takayama, L., & Landay, J. A. (2002). High-fidelity or low-fidelity, paper or computer? Choosing attributes when testing web prototypes. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 46(5), 661–665. doi
Filters and manifestations

Two roles of a prototype: a filter selects the aspects of an idea to examine, and a manifestation makes the idea concrete in some material, level of detail and scope (Lim et al., 2008).

  • Lim, Y.-K., Stolterman, E., & Tenenberg, J. (2008). The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 15(2), Article 7. doi
G
H
Horizontal and vertical prototypes

A horizontal prototype shows the full breadth of a product's features with nothing working behind them. A vertical prototype makes one narrow feature work in depth.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability engineering. Academic Press. doi
I
Iterative design

Designing in repeated rounds of making, testing with users and revising, with each version built on what the last test showed.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Buxton, B. (2007). Sketching user experiences: Getting the design right and the right design. Morgan Kaufmann. books.google.com
  • Nielsen, J. (1993). Iterative user-interface design. Computer, 26(11), 32–41. doi
M
Mockup

A static picture of a screen showing the intended visual design in full, which looks finished but does nothing.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Warfel, T. Z. (2009). Prototyping: A practitioner's guide. Rosenfeld Media.
P
Paper prototype

Hand-drawn screens moved by a facilitator in response to what a user does.

  • Rudd, J., Stern, K., & Isensee, S. (1996). Low vs. high-fidelity prototyping debate. Interactions, 3(1), 76–85. doi
  • Walker, M., Takayama, L., & Landay, J. A. (2002). High-fidelity or low-fidelity, paper or computer? Choosing attributes when testing web prototypes. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 46(5), 661–665. doi
Parallel prototyping

Making several prototypes before getting feedback on them together (Dow et al., 2010).

  • Dow, S. P., Glassco, A., Kass, J., Schwarz, M., Schwartz, D. L., & Klemmer, S. R. (2010). Parallel prototyping leads to better design results, more divergence, and increased self-efficacy. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 17(4), Article 18. doi
  • Tohidi, M., Buxton, W., Baecker, R., & Sellen, A. (2006). Getting the right design and the design right: Testing many is better than one. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1243–1252). ACM. doi
Permissioned opinions

The fourth step of the Critical Response Process, in which opinions come last and only with the maker's permission: "I have an opinion about _____, would you like to hear it?" (Lerman, n.d.).

  • Lerman, L. (n.d.). Critical Response Process. Liz Lerman. Retrieved September 18, 2026, from lizlerman.com
Placeholder text

Dummy wording, often the mock-Latin lorem ipsum, used to fill a layout before the real content exists. It hides the problems real content would reveal.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
Proof of concept

A small build made to show that an idea is technically possible, which says little about whether people want it or can use it.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Houde, S., & Hill, C. (1997). What do prototypes prototype? In M. Helander, T. K. Landauer, & P. Prabhu (Eds.), Handbook of human-computer interaction (2nd ed., pp. 367–381). Elsevier. doi
Prototype

Any representation of a design idea, regardless of medium, built to answer a question and then be thrown away (Houde & Hill, 1997).

R03 Any representation of a design idea, regardless of medium, made to answer a question (Houde & Hill, 1997).

  • Houde, S., & Hill, C. (1997). What do prototypes prototype? In M. G. Helander, T. K. Landauer, & P. V. Prabhu (Eds.), Handbook of human-computer interaction (2nd ed., pp. 367–381). North-Holland. doi
  • Houde, S., & Hill, C. (1997). What do prototypes prototype? In M. Helander, T. K. Landauer, & P. Prabhu (Eds.), Handbook of human-computer interaction (2nd ed., pp. 367–381). Elsevier. doi
  • Buxton, B. (2007). Sketching user experiences: Getting the design right and the right design. Morgan Kaufmann. books.google.com
R
Rapid prototyping

Building and testing rough working versions early and repeatedly, so that design and evaluation run together instead of one after the other.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Tripp, S. D., & Bichelmeyer, B. (1990). Rapid prototyping: An alternative instructional design strategy. Educational Technology Research and Development, 38(1), 31–44. doi
Reaction

Feedback that reports how a design makes someone feel.

  • Connor, A. (2016). 3 kinds of feedback. Discussing Design, Medium. medium.com
  • Connor, A., & Irizarry, A. (2015). Discussing design: Improving communication and collaboration through critique. O'Reilly Media. oreilly.com
Replay enactment

A prototype test that replays real, recorded data at its original speed while users role-play a task (Holstein et al., 2019).

  • Holstein, K., McLaren, B. M., & Aleven, V. (2019). Co-designing a real-time classroom orchestration tool to support teacher–AI complementarity. Journal of Learning Analytics, 6(2), 27–52. doi
  • Holstein, K., Harpstead, E., Gulotta, R., & Forlizzi, J. (2020). Replay enactments: Exploring possible futures through historical data. In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. ACM. doi
S
Scenario

A short written story of a particular person using a product to reach a goal in a particular setting, used to think through a design before building it.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Carroll, J. M. (2000). Making use: Scenario-based design of human-computer interactions. MIT Press. doi
Sketch

A quick, cheap, disposable drawing made to explore an idea rather than confirm it (Buxton, 2007).

R03 A quick, cheap, disposable representation made to explore rather than to confirm (Buxton, 2007).

  • Buxton, B. (2007). Sketching user experiences: Getting the design right and the right design. Morgan Kaufmann. books.google.com
  • Hartmann, B. (2009). Gaining design insight through interaction prototyping tools [Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University]. people.eecs.berkeley.edu
  • Tohidi, M., Buxton, W., Baecker, R., & Sellen, A. (2006). Getting the right design and the design right: Testing many is better than one. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1243–1252). ACM. doi
Storyboard

A sequence of drawn frames showing a person using a product in context over time, used to explore and explain a situation of use before any screens are designed.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Buxton, B. (2007). Sketching user experiences: Getting the design right and the right design. Morgan Kaufmann. books.google.com
  • Truong, K. N., Hayes, G. R., & Abowd, G. D. (2006). Storyboarding: An empirical determination of best practices and effective guidelines. In Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 12–21). ACM. doi
T
Throwaway prototype

A prototype built only to answer a question and then discarded, with none of its code or materials carried into the product.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Tripp, S. D., & Bichelmeyer, B. (1990). Rapid prototyping: An alternative instructional design strategy. Educational Technology Research and Development, 38(1), 31–44. doi
  • Floyd, C. (1984). A systematic look at prototyping. In R. Budde, K. Kuhlenkamp, L. Mathiassen, & H. Züllighoven (Eds.), Approaches to prototyping (pp. 1–18). Springer. doi
Tuning protocol

A structured, timed conversation among educators in which a presenter shares work and a question, then listens silently while colleagues give feedback.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • McDonald, J. P., Mohr, N., Dichter, A., & McDonald, E. C. (2013). The power of protocols: An educator's guide to better practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
W
Warm and cool feedback

A protocol convention: warm feedback names what works in a piece of work; cool feedback raises questions and gaps between the work and its goals.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • McDonald, J. P., Mohr, N., Dichter, A., & McDonald, E. C. (2013). The power of protocols: An educator's guide to better practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Wireframe

A plain line drawing of a screen that shows what goes where and in what order of importance, leaving out colour, imagery and final wording.

  • R07Design methods IIFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Garrett, J. J. (2011). The elements of user experience: User-centered design for the web and beyond (2nd ed.). New Riders.
  • Warfel, T. Z. (2009). Prototyping: A practitioner's guide. Rosenfeld Media.
Wizard of Oz test

A test in which a hidden person plays the part of a system (Kelley, 1984).

R10 A test in which a hidden person simulates a system that users believe is automated (Kelley, 1984).

  • Kelley, J. F. (1984). An iterative design methodology for user-friendly natural language office information applications. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 2(1), 26–41. doi
  • Dahlbäck, N., Jönsson, A., & Ahrenberg, L. (1993). Wizard of Oz studies: Why and how. Knowledge-Based Systems, 6(4), 258–266. doi
  • Kelley, J. F. (2018). Wizard of Oz (WoZ): A yellow brick journey. Journal of Usability Studies, 13(3), 119–124. uxpajournal.org

Nearby

The guide itself, and the ones either side

Read design methods: sketching, prototyping and critique (opens in a new tab)Design methods: making sense of research UX foundations and design systems All 21 guides
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