“Works as Advertised”: Observations and Benefits of Prototyping

The design of useful, easy to use application software requires early and sustained involvement of end users in the design and evaluation of the user interface. The present paper describes the experiences of the authors during the design and evaluation of a prototype user interface for an accounts receivable application. Some of the issues inherent in prototyping, and the anticipated, as well as unanticipated, benefits of prototyping are discussed.