Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Virtual Reality https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-018-0356-1 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Mixed prototypes for the evaluation of usability and user experience: simulating an interactive electronic device Fernanda Gomes Faust 1  · Tiago Catecati 1  · Isabella de Souza Sierra 2  · Fernanda Steinbruch Araujo 2  · Alejandro Rafael García Ramírez 3  · Elton Moura Nickel 2  · Marcelo Gitirana Gomes Ferreira 2 Received: 12 July 2017 / Accepted: 4 July 2018 © Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Mixed prototyping technology can be used to represent and simulate the behavior of interactive products at low cost and with great fexibility. This preliminary experimental research intends to verify the suitability of using this technology in the evalu- ation of usability and user experience of interactive products. Users and experts evaluate the mixed prototype of an image projector with regard to its own usability, and also with respect to its ability to be used to evaluate usability and user experi- ence aspects of the real projector. Users perform tasks on both the real projector and its mixed prototype. In regard to these comparative performance evaluations, time to perform the task and number of errors show a clear positive relationship with the difculty of the task for both mixed prototype and real projector. In regard to more subjective UX evaluations, the results show to be congruent. However, we realize that emotions assigned to the mixed prototype are infuenced by the “fascination” that augmented reality arises in individuals. Experts evaluate the mixed prototype with respect to aspects of the interaction with the product that it is able to simulate, and with respect to the classes of products best suited to be prototyped. They highlighted the possibility of using the technology to evaluate product performance, ergonomics, and operation. In regard to the classes of products to be prototyped, experts’ suggestions coincided with the classes of products that have already been used in research: household appliances, information and communication devices, and automotive parts and accessories. Keywords Product prototyping · Augmented reality · Mixed prototyping · Usability · User experience 1 Introduction Physical prototypes are built throughout the design process in order to evaluate several important aspects of the product under development: esthetics, usability, manufacturability, and so on. These evaluations are important since they sub- sidize and impact the decisions taken by the product devel- opment team (Viganò et al. 2004). These three-dimensional prototypes also help communication and collaboration among the members of the team. However, physical pro- totypes (primarily functional prototypes), due to their high costs and building time, increase the costs and lead-time of the project. In this context, designers and engineers use virtual proto- types to simulate and evaluate some technical aspects of the products, before building any physical artifact (Viganò et al. 2004). As an example, they can evaluate aerodynamic per- formance of vehicles, aircraft, and even buildings by using computer simulation, replacing costly wind tunnels, which require a physical prototype of the product. More recently, augmented reality (AR) technology arose with the potential to help designers and engineers evalu- ate several aspects of the product (Verlinden et al. 2006). Unlike virtual reality (VR), AR technology allows the users to see the real environment where the product, or its virtual Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-018-0356-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Marcelo Gitirana Gomes Ferreira marcelo.gitirana@gmail.com 1 Departamento de Engenharia de Produção e Sistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Trindade, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil 2 Departamento de Design, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Av. Buriti, 680, ap. 705B, Itacorubi, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina CEP 88.034-500, Brazil 3 Departamento de Computação Aplicada, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, Campus Itajaí, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil