Hi Kyle,

If you turned your paper prototypes into non-interactive digital images --
just, say, a Google Draw document or even Paint, with boxes where you want
them, menus arranged accordingly, headers footers etc. -- you could put
them up as slides at a gathering and get user feedback that way, both via
direct request, taking notes in a kind of seminar session, as well as (if
you were willing to tweak your designs in response to feedback) a card
sort. Either of these options would keep you from having to have a
fully-functioning development version live prior to getting some kind of
feedback.

Hope this helps!

Best wishes,

Jennifer Wright, MLIS
Electronic Access Unit
Technical Services
Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library
University of Michigan
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On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 9:48 AM, Kyle Breneman <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Apologies for cross-listing...
>
> I need some advice on user testing methods.  I’ve embarked on a project to
> redo our library website’s information architecture.  I’ve sketched out a
> new IA for the site which I want to test with users.  Initially I thought
> that I would just build out the new IA on our development server, then do
> usability testing with users on the dev site.  Now I’m realizing that will
> be a lot of work, and making any changes once its built will also take
> time.  Is there a middle ground?  Are there good ways to do some user
> testing with paper prototypes?  I want to get feedback on whether my
> categories and labels are intuitive and meaningful.
>
> Kyle Breneman
>
> Integrated Digital Services Librarian
>
> University of Baltimore
>