A desktop walkthrough helps designers to quickly simulate a service experience using simple props like toy figurines or pre-defined illustrations on a small- scale stage and test and explore common scenarios and alternatives.
PREPARATION: up to 60 minutes
DESIGN PHASE: Creation
DURATION: 30-60 minutes
TEMPLATE OR GUIDELINES: n/a
FACILITATORS: 1 per workshop
RESOURCES: SAP Scenes kit
PARTICIPANTS: 3–6, design team, partners, community members, etc.
EXPECTED OUTCOME: Prototype concept
SAP Scenes is a tool to create stories about services quickly, collaboratively and iteratively. It empowers designers to shape their ideas and scenarios in the form of fun illustrative storyboards.
State the selected “How Might We” statement or a sub-focus area of it.
Based on your HMW statement or the focus of what you are interested in, define the criteria and select the suitable participants.
Organize a meeting with the selected participants, and gather the necessary resources and supplies, e.g. SAP Scenes. Think about what expectations will be set up-front, how you will start and end the workshop, and how much time participants are expected to dedicate to this activity. Think what is your scope and what do you want to learn from this prototyping activity?
Pick up your SAP Scenes materials for the desktop walkthrough. Gather around a table that is big enough so everybody can stand around it and contribute at the same time. Show to everyone how the SAP Scenes works in less than 2 minutes, https://youtu.be/UNhGyG9NUtE. Then, go through the pre-defined illustrations – characters, speech bubbles, signs, arrows, buildings, devices, transportation elements, office furniture, and backgrounds. Together start to create scenes by adding backgrounds, characters (e.g. representing users, staff or key stakeholders) and actions. Characters’ faces can be enhanced with emotions by drawing eyebrows, mouth on them, etc. Start the walkthrough and check who or what has to move at each step in the journey? Put all characters and props onto their starting positions and start acting the events of the journey draft – play through the service from beginning to end. Move your illustrations or figures around on the scenes stages. Act out all necessary dialogue and do all the interactions between characters, devices, equipment, and so on. Do as many iterations as necessary.
Discuss the various played scenes among the whole group, and write up the key outcomes from this exercise.