As part of a larger systems project, Clone Bank of Clone, Colorado, wants your help in setting up a new monthly reporting form for its checking and savings account customers. The president and vice presidents are very attuned to what customers in the community are saying. They think that their customers want a checking account summary that looks like the one offered by the other three banks in town. They are unwilling, however, to commit to that form without a formal summary of customer feedback that supports their decision. Feedback will not be used to change the prototype form in any way. They want you to send a prototype of one form to one group and to send the old form to another group.

Question

a. In a paragraph discuss why it probably is not worthwhile to prototype the new form under these circumstances.
b. In a second paragraph discuss a situation under which it would be advisable to prototype a new form.

Answer 1

a. It is not worthwhile to prototype the new form, because the purpose of a prototype is to provide users the opportunity to suggest improvements and innovations. The bank, on the other hand, is not interested in changing the form. The bank’s approach to determining the form is a plausible strategy, but it is not a prototype.

b. Only if the bank is interested in user input in designing the form would prototyping be a viable alternative.