The

Prototype
Fund Guide
Lean Experiments

Copyright 2021 © Academy for Corporate Entrepreneurship

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What type of experiment to run:

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What type of experiment to run:

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 Table of Content
Physical Prototype Fund Menu 05
Digital Prototype Fund Menu 08
Welcome to the Prototype Fund Guide 12

Lean Experiments Explained 13

Why we experiment 14
Who will (help) experiment 15
How we experiment 16
Experiment Journey 19

The Tools 21

Category: Problem 22
Focus Groups 23
Problem Interview 24

Category: Customer 25
Fake Door 26
Online Ads 28

Category: Solution 30
Comprehension Testing 31
Card Sorting 32
Concierge Testing 33
Landing Page 34
Facebook Page / LinkedIn Company Page 37
Solution Interview 39
Paper Test 40
Demo / Explainer Video 41
Marketing Video 42
Wizard of Oz 43
Competitor Research 44
Wireframes 45
Clickable App Prototype 46

Category: Messaging & pricing 47

Email with Call to Action or Landing Page 48
Tear-off Flyer 49
Dry-Wallet 50

Category: Usability (UX) 52

Smoke Test (High Bar) 53
Usability Testing 54

Category: Visualising / Selling the Idea 55

Branding 56
Product Design Sketch 57
360 Degree CAD Model 59
Photorealistic Rendering 61

The Prototype Fund 62

Submitting requests to the Prototype Fund 63
Prototype Do’s and Don’ts 64

Appendix 65
GDPR Compliance FAQ’s 66
Glossary 68

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 Physical Prototype Fund Menu

1. Product Design Sketch

What: Based on the submitted request form, product designers will produce a first impression
sketch design of the product. Includes 1 iteration based on email or short phone call feedback with
designer.
Why: The designer’s illustration transforms your product idea into a product visualisation which can
support customer interviews and experiments.

1a. Sketch ( just follow the proposed design) ₱ 200.00

What: Receive analogue / digital design drawings based on the information provided by the team 2 business days
through the request form and the quick call, which communicate a first impression of the design
direction.
Why: The designer‘s illustrations transform the team‘s ideas into a visualisation of their product.
This gives you an initial idea of the direction the development can move into.
Deliverables:
• analogue / digital (coloured) design drawings (max. 3 images from different perspectives)
• 1 simple iteration loop (small modifications without changing the concept, e.g. changing colours,
size of parts, logo position etc.)
Needed first: n/a

1b. Sketch • upgrade 1 (follow but challenge the design) ₱ 100.00

What: Receive 1 additional concept (with a possible additional value) and a maximum of 3 2 business days
analogue / digital design drawings.
Why: The designer provides you an alternative solution based on his external view and experience
from numerious projects which can make your product more desirable.
Deliverables:
• additional analogue / digital (coloured) design drawings (max. 3 images from different
perspectives)
• 1 simple iteration loop
• short documentation explaining the designs
Needed first: 1a

1c. Sketch • upgrade 2 (create design principles) ₱ 100.00

What: Receive 1 additional concept (a design principle) and a maximum of 3 analogue / digital 2 business days
design drawings.
Why: A design principle/principle offers the option to apply a possible design key feature to other
products in order to achieve a high recognition value and scalability within a product portfolio /
family.
Deliverables:
• additional analogue and digital (coloured) design drawings (max. 3 images from different
perspectives)
• design principle illustrations
• 1 simple iteration loop
• short documentation document
Needed first: 1a

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Physical Prototype Fund Menu

2. 360 Degree Live View

What: Receive a consultation and 2 iterations to create 360 degree live views of your product or key feature on your screen
(Acrobat Reader DC) along with a 10-15 second MP4 animation clip.
Why: A more interactive and detailed way to show off your key features (proportions and dimensions). Plug into explainer or
marketing videos to help raise development funds.

2a. Extra consulting call ₱ 0.00

What: Get a suggestion by the designer for the next steps which are necessary to meet your
expectations.
Why: An extra consulting call enables the designer to define the workscope which is necessary to
achieve your desired results.
Deliverables:
• extra consulting call
Needed first: 1a, 1b or 1c

2b. 360 Degree CAD Model ₱ 600.00

What: Receive a simple (1 mono-part) surface and volume model as rotatable 3D CADfile. Its design 3 business days
is further elaborated in detail by formal variants and is based on the concept sketches (1a / 1b / 1c
Product design sketch).
Why: A digital 3D CAD-model provides improved three-dimensional impressions of the product’s
structure and its formal aesthetic appearance. By a CAD-model, the product idea can be better
evaluated and verified.
Deliverables:
• simple surface / volume CAD-model (monochrome) as 3D-PDF-file which allows a first all-round
view of the product
• 2 simple iteration loops
Needed first: 1a, 1b or 1c and 2a

2c. 360 Degree CAD Model • upgrade 1 ₱ 300.00

What: Receive a semi-detailed (1 multi-part) surface and volume model as rotatable 3D CAD-file. 2 business days
Why: A semi-detailed multi-part 3D CAD-model offers you a more realistic impression. It can
already slightly show the complexity and necessary number of parts with regards to later
construction and production issues.
Deliverables:
• semi-detailed surface / volume CAD-model (monochrome) as 3D-PDF-file which allows a first all-
round view of the product
• 2 simple iteration loops
Needed first: 1a, 1b or 1c, 2a and 2b

2d. 360 Degree CAD Model • upgrade 2 ₱ 500.00

What: Receive a detailed (1 assembly containing several single parts) surface and volume model 2.5 business days
as a rotatable 3D CAD-file.
Why: A detailed 3D CAD assembly model offers you a more realistic impression and the option to
receive an exploded view of your product. It can already slighly show the complexity and necessary
number of parts with regards to later construction and production issues.
Deliverables:
• detailed surface / volume CAD-model (monochrome) as 3D-PDF-file which allows a first all-round
view of the product
• 2 simple iteration loops
Needed first: 1a, 1b or 1c, 2a and 2b

2e. Extended Iteration Loop ₱ 200.00

What: Get an extra modification for your 3D-model which is out of scope of the simple iteration 1 business day
loop which is included.
Why: An extended iteration loop offers the opportunity to have another consultation of the team
with the designer and results in modifications which can lead to an (aesthetic) optimisation of your
idea.
Deliverables:
• optimised 3D-model due to extra iteration loop
Needed first: 1a, 1b or 1c, 2a and 2b

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Physical Prototype Fund Menu

3. Photorealistic Rendering
What: Receive a consultation and 2 iterations so that the first impression can be further
developed into a photorealistic visualisation of what your product could look like, represented by
2 high resolution renderings.
Why: Show much deeper context around colours, materials, textures and dimensions of your
product to demo the look and feel of a finished product.

3a. Photorealistic Rendering ₱ 400.00

What: Receive a photorealistic rendering, including defined materials, colours and product 2 business days
graphics, which brings your idea to life.
Why: A rendering enables you to show your product in form of a photorealistic image to your target
group and potential investors in a pre-development stage.
Deliverables:
• 1 photorealistic rendering in a perspective view (in high resolution quality) of the product
• 1 simple iteration loop
Needed first: 2c or higher

3b. Photorealistic Rendering • upgrade 1 ₱ 200.00

What: Receive 3 additional photorealistic renderings from chosen views (top, left / right side, 1.5 business days
bottom, front / back) based on consultation of the designer.
Why: Different views of your product provide a better evaluation and comprehension of the
product idea.
Deliverables:
• 3 additional views (in high resolution quality) of the product
• 1 simple iteration loop
Needed first: 2c or higher and 3a

3c. Photorealistic Rendering • upgrade 2 ₱ 400.00

What: Receive a 360° rotating movie of your product. 1.5 business days
Why: A 360° movie of your product enables you and your target group to get a complete dynamic
view of your product in a very convincing way.
Deliverables:
• 360° rotating movie of 4-5 seconds or a file customers can turn into an animation itself on a
landing page
Needed first: 2c or higher and 3a

4. 3D Print File
What: Leveraging the previous design work in order to generate a 3D Print File which you can
send to a local 3D printer.
Why: To have a file ready to be 3D printed.

4a. 3D Print File ₱ N/A

What: If this is an option your team would like to explore please select option 2a first. The designer
will then be able to discuss what would be required for your team to get a 3D Print File created and
what limitations might be.
Why: Have the option to 3D print a pretotype of your idea.
Deliverables:
• Depending on your team’s context
Needed first: 2b or 2c or 2d

4b. 3D Print File • upgrade ₱ N/A

Needed first: 4a

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 Digital Prototype Fund Menu

1. Logo Design ₱ 60.00

Experiment: Any 3 business days
What: Get designers to produce a fitting logo for your project.
Why: A logo gives your idea & team an identity that can be used in many of your experiments.
Deliverables:
• 2 logo designs will be presented
• 1 Iteration of the chosen design
• 1 JPEG file of the final logo for future use

1b. Logo Design Upgrade ₱ 40.00

Experiment: Any no set timeline
What: Get further iterations on your logo.
Why: If you pivot your idea or need to add a tag line or if your original request requires more
iterations.
Deliverable:
• Up to 2 further iterations on your logo

2. Domain and Email ₱ 40.00

Experiment: Any 1 business day
What: Procure a new domain and email that reflects your team name or project. Use https://
www.nameql.com/ to check the availability first.
Why: A domain and email allows you to communicate about your idea with externals, whilst
protecting your corporate employer brand and without worrying about hosting issues.
Deliverables:
• 1 new website domain - as per the availability (1 year)
• 1 email address with the new domain (1 year)
• Username / Password and instructions to set up the email

3. Email with Call to Action (CTA) ₱ 60.00

Experiment: Email with Call to Action or Landing Page 3 business days
What: Test interest with a defined audience by sending an email with a call to action to register
their interest.
Why: This helps you to access Beta users quickly from an existing channel.
Deliverables:
• Attractive design for your call to action with 1 iteration
• Sending of email from a third party email system
• Simple analysis of engagement

4. Survey(s) ₱ 80.00
Experiment: Feedback Survey, Customer Satisfaction Surveys, NPS Survey, Concierge Testing 2 business days
What: Submit the questions you want to ask your customers and get a survey on typeform. You
can send this survey to your customers and get answers for your questions.
Why: Survey is a good way to get broad info about your problem area and zoom deeper into
assumptions. You can define your customer segments and get an early feedback from them.
Deliverables:
• An attractive survey hosted on Typeform
• Up to 10 questions / fields
• A link that can be sent to customers
• Reporting of survey result

5. Flyer / Brochure ₱ 40.00

Experiment: Email with CTA or Landing Page, Tear-off Flyer, Dry Wallet, Marketing Campaign 3 business days
What: Create a nicely designed one page Flyer / Brochure / Infographic around your targeted
problem and solution.
Why: Get feedback on your idea, also in an offline environment.
Deliverables:
• Design for brochure in PDF (max. 3 iterations)

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Digital Prototype Fund Menu

5b. Flyer / Brochure Upgrade (each additional page) ₱ 40.00

Experiment: Email with CTA or Landing Page, Tear-off Flyer, Dry Wallet, Marketing Campaign 3 business days
What: Create a nicely designed one page Flyer / Brochure / Infographic around your targeted
problem and solution.
Why: Get feedback on your idea, also in an offline environment.
Deliverables:
• Design for brochure in PDF (max. 3 iterations)

6. Landing Page (Version 1) ₱ 200.00

Experiment: Fake Door, Online Ads, Comprehension Testing, Email with CTA or Landing Page, 3 business days
Dry Wallet, Smoke Test (High Bar)
What: Create a live website (landing page) to showcase your idea. Start with a simple version 1
and then add more functionality with versions 2 and 3 when and as you need them. Includes
Google Analystics and GDPR Compliance.
Why: Landing Pages allow you to test if the problem your solution solves is worth solving or not.
It also helps you discover whether you are targeting the right customer segment.
Deliverables:
• Show case the problem you are solving and collect emails from the customers: http://www.
hrcibil.com/version1. Use it when your idea is very early stage and you are not sure of the
solution yet.

6b. Landing Page Upgrade (Version 2) ₱ 200.00

Experiment: Fake Door, Online Ads, Comprehension Testing, Email with CTA or Landing Page, 3 business days
Dry Wallet, Smoke Test (High Bar)
What: Create a live website (landing page) to showcase your idea. Start with a simple version 1
and then add more functionality with versions 2 and 3 when and as you need them. Includes
Google Analystics and GDPR Compliance.
Why: Landing Pages allow you to test if the problem your solution solves is worth solving or not.
It also helps you discover whether you are targeting the right customer segment.
Deliverables:
• Show case the problem you are solving and how you are solving it. Later collect emails from
the customers: http://www.hrcibil.com/version2/. Use it when your idea is in early stage but
you are aware of the solution and some important features.

6c. Landing Page Upgrade (Version 3) ₱ 200.00

Experiment: Fake Door, Online Ads, Comprehension Testing, Email with CTA or Landing Page, 3 business days
Dry Wallet, Smoke Test (High Bar)
What: Create a live website (landing page) to showcase your idea. Start with a simple version 1
and then add more functionality with versions 2 and 3 when and as you need them. Includes
Google Analystics and GDPR Compliance.
Why: Landing Pages allow you to test if the problem your solution solves is worth solving or not.
It also helps you discover whether you are targeting the right customer segment.
Deliverables:
• Show case the problem, solutions, features and pricing. Test if user intends to purchase or
sign up: http://www.hrcibil.com/version3/

6d. Further Landing Pages (customised to needs) ₱ 200.00

Experiment: Fake Door, Online Ads, Comprehension Testing, Email with CTA or Landing Page, no set timeline
Dry Wallet, Smoke Test (High Bar)
What: Create a live website (landing page) to showcase your idea. Start with a simple version 1
and then add more functionality with versions 2 and 3 when and as you need them. Includes
Google Analystics and GDPR Compliance.
Why: Landing Pages allow you to test if the problem your solution solves is worth solving or not.
It also helps you discover whether you are targeting the right customer segment.
Deliverables:
Version 1: Show case the problem you are solving and collect emails from the customers: http://www.
hrcibil.com/version1. Use it when your idea is very early stage and you are not sure of the solution yet.
Version 2: Show case the problem you are solving and how you are solving it. Later collect emails
from the customers: http://www.hrcibil.com/version2/. Use it when your idea is in early stage but you
are aware of the solution and some important features.
Version 3: Show case the problem, solutions, features and pricing. Test if user intends to purchase or
sign up: http://www.hrcibil.com/version3/

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Digital Prototype Fund Menu
7. Online Marketing Campaign (1 - 2 weeks) ₱ 180 - 190
Experiment: Facebook Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, XING Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads, 2 business days
Youtube Ads
What: Create an online advertisement on Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube,
Instagram etc to drive traffic to your survey, landing page, design prototype, explainer video etc.
Why: Ads are a good way to drive prospective customers to your offering and test the channel
conversion. Based on data collected you can make the decision for the next steps.
Deliverables:
• Set up of company page
• Design of Ad with required messaging
• Purchase of online Ads worth 100€ (except for LinkedIn which is 150€)
• Analytics report on traffic and conversion and experiment result.
• Source design files for future use

7b. Extra Ad Spend ₱ 40.00

Experiment: Facebook Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, XING Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads,
Youtube Ads
What: You may have designed your Ad but you want to double down on the EUR 100 spent to
generate more traffic. You decide the expenditure.
Why: With more traffic you can increase your data set or test a different variable to get more
insights.
Deliverables:
• Purchase of additional online Ads worth xxx€

8. Design Prototype (Click Dummy) ₱ 600.00

Experiment: Clickable App Prototype 5 business days
What: Create a design prototype of the solution you want to develop. This can be showcased to
the customer either on your phone or via a laptop. We will work with you to understand the user
journey and user flow through the app with multiple iterations.
Why: Design Prototype brings your idea to life and helps you collect feedback on product
features and user flow. It is a good way to showcase your solution to your perspective customer
without actually developing it. It helps you understand whether the solution you are trying to
build is the right solution.
Deliverables:
• Design Prototype - Invision (max. 10 screens and max. 3 iterations)
• Source file for the design prototype

8b. Design Prototype Upgrade GIF ₱ 60.00

Experiment: Clickable App Prototype no set timeline
What: Create a video and GIF to showcase your complete design prototype and its interaction.
Why: The video can be shared on social media to showcase your solution to prospective
customers. The corresponding GIF could be embedded in the final pitch to showcase your
solution during the Pitch Presentation.

9. Demo / Explainer Video ₱ 600.00

Experiment: Demo / Explainer Video 6 - 7 business days
What: Create a 2-3 min whiteboard animation video or a 2D animated video to explain the
problem you are solving and the solution you want to build. Show that to your prospective
customers and get their feedback. Share it on social media.
Why: 2-3 minute video with clear and concise pitch is a perfect way to engage your audience.
This connected with social media can reach your target customers and get the quality feedback
that is needed.
Deliverables:
• Explainer / Solution video (max. 3 iterations)
• Youtube link with the video to share on social media

10. Storyboards / Illustrations ₱ 110.00

Experiment: Comprehension Testing 6 business days
What: Create an Illustration to provide a visual explanation of text or concept. This can be
showcased on social media or in the pitch presentation to better explain the solution.
Why: Illustration is great for taking people on a journey, whether you’re literally walking people
through a brand’s story using illustrated scenes or characters, or constructing a subtler narrative
across various brand touchpoints.
Deliverables:
• 1 Page Illustration (max. 3 iterations)
• Branding theme of your idea
• Translating your solution in to visuals
• JPEG format for sharing and final source file for further edits

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Digital Prototype Fund Menu

11. Usability Testing ₱ 240.00

Experiment: Usability Testing no set timeline
What: We will test your mobile or web app from a usability perspective (consider it a 2nd eye or
sanity check) and we will point out 5 top UX and usability issues with your solution.
Why: Usability issue is one of the top reasons why users STOP using your product. Understand
the areas in your product which can be frustating for your users and try to fix it in your next
development phase or sprint. This will definitely increase your engagement and also decrease
your churn or bounce rate.
Deliverables:
• UX experts will test drive your solution and customer journey
• A report with 5 UX issues in your product - with detailed explanation of the issues

12. Pimp my Pitch Deck ₱ 200.00

Experiment: Branding (Pimp my Pitch Deck) 5 - 10 business days
What: Designing an inspiring pitch presentation will help you get the funding/ support you
need. Don’t show up to pitches or meetings with a boring corporate slide design that sends
people right to sleep.
Why: Pitches typically last 7 mins, so much of your key info needs to visually pop from your
slides and support your oral message. Pitches need to contain minimal text & it has to go
hand-in-hand with visuals.
Deliverables:
• Pitch presentation for 10 slides (max. 3 iterations)
• Branding theme of your idea
• Translating your speaker notes into visual aids
• Inserting prototype designs
• Infographics
• PPT format for you to do final edits

12b. Pimp my Pitch Deck Upgrade (per slide) ₱ 20.00

Experiment: Branding (Pimp my Pitch Deck) no set timeline
What: Upgrade from your allocated 10 slides to include further designs that you may require.
Why: You may wish to include more information and don't have the time to leverage the
existing design of the 10 slides to make new ones.
Deliverables:
• 1 extra slide

13. Marketing Video ₱ 700.00

Experiment: Marketing Video 2 - 3 weeks
What: A Marketing Video is essentially an advertisement for your solution. It’s an animated or
live action video used to promote or market your product or service and can include your brand
name, vision, benefits and a product demo.
Why: A marketing video is different from an explainer video or demo video in that is focuses
more on the benefits rather than how the product or solution works and is therefore more
emotional than a demo/explainer video.
Deliverables:
• 45 second stock video
• Voiceover
• Animations / infographics
• Music
• Branding theme of your idea
• Inserting prototype designs
• All licenses

14. Credit Card ₱ N/A

What: Using a global Mastercard credit card. We try to keep usage to an absolute minimum.
Why: In rare cases that you will need something that the Prototype Fund can't supply directly,
you may carry your credit over to our credit card. Your mentor must approve the purchase and
a 20% management fee will be charged.
The prototype Fund team will make the purchase on behalf of the team.
Deliverable:
• Prototype Fund team will make the purchase on behalf of the team

Project Manager Fee ₱ 80.00

Compulsary Project Manager Fee per team using the Digital Prototype Fund.

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 Welcome to the
Prototype Fund Guide.
This guide consists of 3 sections:

Lean Experiments Explained

In this section we will dive into what lean experiments are, why we run them,
and how to design them. This section also includes a detailed breakdown of the
AfCE Lean Experiment map tool.

The Tools
This section introduces you to a number of tools and types fo experiments you
can use to test your assumptions. For each tool the guide will give you clear
instructions on how to use them.

The Prototype Fund

You need to run an experiment per week, but you are not expected to spend a
lot of time on learning to use new platforms or systems (that can lead to IT and
legal nightmares). That is why you have access to the prototype fund.

This section will introduce you to the fund, will explain how to submit requests
and lay out some best practices of working with a developer team.

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 Lean Experiments
Explained

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 Why we experiment.
Running experiments is crucial for innovation. They allow you to test the assumptions around your idea and
collect evidence that the problem you are trying to solve exists, that your solution is the right one, that you
are targeting the right customer segment, etc. This ensures that you arrive at a properly validated and de-
risked solution, increasing the chances of project success if you receive further funding.

It also enables you to combat the ‘HiPPO effect’. HiPPO stands for highest paid person’s opinion – it
happens all to often within corporation that the most senior person in the room makes a decision based
on their gut, rather than on data and evidence. By collecting this evidence and presenting it effectively a
decision can be made based on data, rather than on untested assumptions.

Validating a hypothesis and de-risking the solution means gathering evidence of actual behaviour,
not claimed behaviour or survey data.

Before you start, a note on claimed vs actual behaviour.

The AfCE curriculum is based on the principle of hypothesis validation by searching for direct evidence that
a solution is viable. This ensures you arrive at a properly validated and de-risked solution, increasing the
chances of project success if you receive further funding.

Actions people take are better than words because truth is not in what people say or claim, truth is in what
they do. Most successful innovations come about through rigorous research of people’s actual behaviour.

Example:
A company was developing a service that would offer education and advice on cyber-security.
When they conducted a survey, the majority of the people they spoke to said that they
wouldn’t need this advice or service, because they already knew how to protect themselves.

But later in the interviews, it became clear that most people had very little knowledge about
security and the knowledge they did have was often incorrect — clearly demonstrating that
what people claim is not necessarily true.

Example:
A team of developers was building a smartphone banking app. To make sure they were
designing the app according to their customers' wishes they asked customers what was
more important to them… convenience or security?

Interestingly, the question was answered differently depending on whether people were
asked while using the app or removed from the process. When observing people using their
banking apps, they said that the security requirements for logging in were too rigorous and
that they would prefer a less secure, more convenient log-in process.

But when a survey was sent to other banking app users, the responses were the exact opposite.
These users said they’d like more security, even at the expense of convenience.

This is a good example demonstrating the need to test as close to the usage context as possible and to
not rely on ‘claimed’ data when validating a solution.

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 Who will (help) experiment.
Running experiments is a team effort. Please find an overview of the people who will be involved in
running the experiments and their respective roles.

01. Your Team

Your team will be in charge of running weekly
experiments throughout your innovation program.

One person will be the designated ‘experiment lead’ and

in charge of updating everyone on the progress of active
experiments, filling in the loops on the experiment map
and brainstorming assumptions with the team to decide
what to test next.

This person will also be responsible on communicating

with the prototype fund on behalf of the team.

02. Your Mentor

Your mentor will assist the team in running experiments.

They will help prioritise assumptions to test, interpreting

experiment results and suggestion what experiment
design to select. In order to do this they will review the
experiment map with the team during the mentor calls.

03. The Prototype Fund

The Prototype Fund is a pre-budgeted and approved
resource of designers, web developers, online marketers
and project managers dedicated to building the assets
you need to success.

They can help you set up a number of experiments

outlined later in this guide.

How to best work with them is explained in the

‘Prototype Fund’ section of this guide.

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 How we experiment.
How do lean experiments work?

Each week throughout the curriculum you will be conducting at least one or more experiments
to validate your assumptions around your idea. The type of experiments you will need to conduct
will change throughout the curriculum. With guidance from your mentor, you will decide which
experiments are the most appropriate for you.

1. List the assumptions you currently have around your idea and prioritise
them with the help of your mentor.

2. Decide which experiments you will run and what type of behaviour you
want to measure. Complete step 1 of the experiment map.

3. Together with your mentor, design the experiments. Some experiments

require you to build assets. Complete step 2 and 3 of the experiment map.

4. Once the experiment is complete, assess the results to see if the

experiment validated your assumptions or not. Complete step 4-6 of the
experiment map.

5. Decide on your team’s next actions based on the results. Complete step 7
of the experiment map.

Ensure you fill out the fields of your experiment map in such a way that even someone who is
not familiar with your project would be able to clearly follow what has been done and what kind
of results you have achieved. This will help you when you have to present your findings during a
pitch, as well as ensures that any future team members, sponsors or mentors can be brought up
to speed to the project easily.

If at any point you have questions, please get in touch with your mentor or contact [email protected]

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 How we experiment.
We design, run and analyse experiments according to the Lean Experiment Map.

It is important to follow the structure to ensure you not only run meaningful experiments, but you also
collect and keep track of the data (evidence) you need to pitch your idea. Lastly, you want to ensure
your insights translate into new actions – which could range from deciding on the next experiment to
run up till pivoting based on the insights you gained.

Find the 7 steps of the experiment map explained in detail below.

01. Most Critical Ask yourself, what is important to test now?

Assumptions to This could either be the most critical (make or break) assumption,
Test Now a follow on assumption that arose from your last experiment or
Select the “most critical the assumption that was next on your list to test.
unknown assumption” you
want to test (if this assumption Ask yourself why is this important to test?
is false, it will cause your idea
to fail).

We believe that..

Refer to the Experiment Overview at the beginning of this guide.

What questions are you trying to answer? What category do they
02. Experiment belong to? What is an experiment design that will answer the
Design relevant question and is feasible for you to conduct? Your mentor
What type of experiment will help you determine the experiment design.
did you use? Example: focus
group, problem interviews, Don’t forget to state how long your experiment will run for!
survey, landing page, etc.

Also time box your

experiment. Over what time
period will you run it?

Your minimum success metric is the ‘bar’ you set for your results.
Will you consider your assumption to be validated if 60% of people/
03. Minimum results are positive? Or do you need this to be higher?
Success Metric
Example: 14 of 20 people
You can create your minimum success metric in the following way:
should confirm they have the
X% of people should take action y for the assumption to be validated.
problem. 70% of people should
click the ‘learn more button’.

Launch Experiment: Ask your mentor to confirm the experiment and then launch it. Engage your Prototype Fund if necessary.

17
 Make the scope of your experiment tangible to show you thoroughly
tested your assumption. For example if 100% of your people agreed
04. Reach with your statement, this is less relevant and reliable if you only
How many people did you: spoke to 1 person than if you contacted 100. How many people you
- speak with will reach will depend on the experiment design (e.g. you will reach
- reach with your ads less people with a focus group than by running a Google Ad). The
- interacted with in another main thing is to clearly state how many people (n) you reached and
way (based on your
in what way you reached them.
experiment design), etc.
For example: We spoke to 12 people on the phone. 6000 people saw
our Facebook Ad or 20 people clicked the ‘learn more’ link on the
Landing Page.

What was the (numeric) result of your experiment?

05. Results This section ties back to your Minimum Success Metric in step 3.
What was the numeric result of
There you stated that if x% of people take action y the assumption
your experiment?
Example: 15 out of 20 people is validated.
confirmed they had the
problem, 200 people opened
Here you want to describe what actually happened. So x% of
the email, etc. people took action y.

Compare what you listed in step 3 and step 5. If you exceeded

your minimum success metric with the results your assumption is
06. Validation
validated. If not your assumption would be invalidated.
According to your own
minimum success metrics: In certain instances your experiment might not play out the way you
was your assumption: intended it to. In such cases you might not be able to (in)validate
- validated
your assumption, making the result of your experiment inconclusive.
- invalidated
- inconclusive

Now it is time to summarise what you learned from your

experiment. Write it in such a way that someone who was not
07. Insights & involved in the experiment (or project) would be able to easily
Actions understand what you learned (this goes for all sections of the
What did you learn from the map, someone without prior knowledge should ideally be able to
experiment? What actions
understand your experiment by simply looking at the map).
will you take based on the
experiment results? Based on the insights, what next actions will you be taking?
We learned…. therefore we
will…

18
 Experiment Journey
Below three examples of experiment journeys of corporate start-up teams are displayed. Each team will
have their own sequence of experiments, based on the nature of their project and the assumptions they
need to test.

These sequences are to show how a number of tools/experiment designs can be used throughout the
program, feel free to use them as inspiration, but always discuss with your mentor what would work best
for your unique context.

01.
Team ActiveBreath are developing a mobile solution to increase patient adherence and to track
their progress post lung surgery. Patients input their information via their mobile. These results are
monitored by the nurses at the Health Center.

The team validated the problem, the value of the solution and its key features with the following tools:

Problem Interviews Logo Clickable mobile

pretotype
to validate the problem to bring the proposition to life
to test features and value of
the patient interface

Pimp my Deck Solution Interviews Dashboard mock up

to make the final pitch deck to receive feedback on the to test features and value of
shine! mock-ups the nurse interface

19
 02.
CleanSweep identified a problem with cleaning product and eCommerce. eCommerce retailers
don’t want to stock heavy washing liquids because they are heavy to carry and have low margin
leading to higher costs associated with stocking the eComerce giant. CleanSweep management
wanted to explore multiple product innovations quickly.

Problem Interviews Product Sketches Landing Page

to validate problem to bring solutions to life to have a place to send
assumptions people to

Google adword Facebook campaign Solution Illustration

campaign
to reach target audience to explain a complex product
to validate solution where they spend most time
propositions

03.
Legs4Life developed a novel method for involving doctors more in an education program for a new
drug. The journey was market by many pivots and they got to their final pitch solution by using the
following tools:

Problem Logo Email address Digital Survey

Interviews and URL

Pimp My Deck Product Video Solution Illustration

20
The Tools
 Category:

Problem
The Tools:
Focus group

Problem interview

22
 Focus Group 7 - 10 business days

Answers these questions:

How do I determine who the real customer is?
How do I confirm that this is the customer?
What type of customer is interested in this offer?
How do we prioritise the feature set?
Does the customer understand our solution?
Does the solution solve a real customer problem?
How can our problem be solved?
What is the minimum feature set?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting?

A focus group is a qualitative research method used for exploration that brings together 6-10 people
in a room to provide feedback around a product, service, concept, or marketing campaign. It’s usually
lead by a moderator and can last anywhere from 20-90-minutes. The moderator has a set list of 10-12
questions. These questions are designed to uncover thoughtful responses from all the participants. The
focus group is a collective on purpose. Unlike an interview, which usually occurs with one individual,
the focus group method allows members of the group to interact and influence each other during the
discussion and consideration of ideas. The moderator’s goal is to hear from everyone and to encourage
the sharing of many different opinions and ideas.

The purpose of a focus group is not to arrive at a consensus, some level of agreement, or to decide what
to do about something, but to identify the feelings, perceptions, and thinking of consumers about a
particular product, service, or solution.

It’s not recommended to conduct focus groups without any previous experience. Because this is a qualitative
research method, it’s very open to bias. This method should be used for exploration, not for validation.

How-to
1. Determine what you want to explore with the focus group.
2. Prepare the questions you want to ask.
3. Determine which groups you want to hear from.
4. Recruit members for each focus group.
5. Conduct focus group.
6. Gather and analyse results.

23
 Problem Interview 5 - 10 business days

Answers these questions:

What’s the problem we are trying to solve? Is it really a problem?
Is what we have a solution, and we’re just looking for a problem?
I have multiple customers, which one should I focus on?
How do I confirm that this is the customer/target audience?

Please see Problem interview content: When exploring new ideas you are trying to identify a problem
that is worth solving for a customer that is willing to pay for a feasible solution to that problem. You do
this to ensure that you have identified a real problem that a customer segment cares about. It will also
give you clues about what type of solution you could build to solve that problem.

It might feel a bit counterintuitive, but these interviews are not meant to prove your idea, in fact what
you are trying to do is to prove that you have the wrong idea! It is really all about putting ourselves in
the customer’s shoes, as often when you talk to customers you learn that their problems are quite
different than what you imagined.

You should try and conduct 20 interviews to get a proper reading of the landscape.

How-to
1. Identify 20 potential customers to interview.
2. Follow the interview cheat sheet as guidance.
3. Analyse results.

See problem interview template.

05. So how do you solve that problem now / how do you deal with this?
Interview cheat sheet. For example: “I’m sorry to hear this. So how do you deal with this now – how do you find out what they spend the money
on”? (If they can’t answer this well, it means they might not be your early adopter because they did not try to find any
solutions to the problem yet).
When running problem interviews, try to adhere to the following 5 questions. You may
change them to fit the context of the problem you are interviewing about.

01. Pre-qualifier question:

If you cannot already guarantee that this person is from your target segment and has experienced the problem you are 06. Hmm interesting, what is not so great about this solution or what are the disadvantages?
enquiring about, then use a pre-qualifier question before you get started. For example, when I was in Manila, Philippines
(You are trying to learn what the disadvantages of the workaround solutions are so that you can engineer your solution
wanting to interview Filipinos who had previously worked abroad, my pre-qualifier was: “Hi, I was just interested to see if
to be 10 times better).
you have spent any time working abroad in the past 3 years”?

02. Could you tell me a story about the last time you experienced problem XYZ?
My example: “Could you tell me about the last time you were working abroad and you sent money home to your family”?
Interview tips
• Conduct your interviews in pairs so one can ask the questions and the other
can note the answers.

• If they can’t answer question 1, you can try re-phrasing the context in case
they did not understand (but don’t change it too much) and if they still can’t
03. What was hard / tough / difficult about that? answer, do not continue to question 2 – find someone else!
(You are trying to learn if the problem is indeed perceived as a real problem by this potential customer).

• Speak 20% of the time (maximum) and listen for 80% of the conversation.

• When asking the questions, do not wander off script (you will put leading
words into their mouths and create unintended bias so your results will
not be accurate).

04. Interesting... Can you tell me a bit more why that was hard / tough / challenging /
• Try to ask the same questions to the same defined customer segment so you
[insert words they used ] ?
can find patterns of people who have the problem and are trying to solve it.
For example: “OK interesting, what annoyed you about not knowing exactly what your family members were spending
the money on”?
• Take photos to remind yourself of whom you spoke to and start building your
customer profile.

afce.co afce.co

24
 Category:

Customer
The Tools:
Focus group (refer back to page 23)

Problem interview (refer back to page 24)

Fake door

Online Ads

25
 Fake Door
Answers these questions: 3 business days
Is the customer interested enough in a feature to click?
Which target audience is attracted?
Which offerings are customers most interested in?
Do different offerings appeal to different customer types?

Before you start developing your product or solution, you might want to test if people are actually
interested in it. You can do this by giving the impression that it’s already built.

Pretending you have a fully developed offer allows you to make more accurate predictions about how
customers will react when the actual product or offering is built. So without developing the solution,
you communicate to visitors that something exists and you ask them to take action. If they act, then
you know they are interested in it.

The idea of this test is to create an advertising campaign or drive people to a landing page to see how
many people take action when asked to react to your offer.

If a user is willing to pay attention (e.g. click on the link or leave an email address), you can conclude
that they are interested.

If you’re driving people to a landing page via an advertising campaign, the click-through rate (number
of clicks divided by the number of views) gives an indication how badly customers want a particular
feature. If you have a high click-thru rate or there are many people who leave behind their email
address, you can conclude that you most likely have a successful product.

You can also use this technique to test if people are interested in certain product features. On your
landing page, a feature description can be given and if a user clicks on it you know they are interested
in that feature. Via your page’s analytics tool you can see if they have clicked. When a person clicks you
can display a ‘coming soon’ message as not to give them a negative experience.

If opportunity
doesn't knock,
build a (fake) door.

26
 Example 01
Experiment:

Experiment: to validate WHO is most

attracted to the solution (patients or
caregivers)
Tool: Fake Door

Experiment: to validate the disease

type more interested in the solution
Tool: Fake Door

Experiment: to validate the

assumption of the average age of the
customer interested in the solution
Tool: Fake Door

Thank you screen after

consumers sign up.

Example 02
Experiment:

Example of fake door.

Customers are asked for their
email address, but on the
next screen they are informed
that IF the start-up proceeds,
they will be informed. It also
provides a place for people to
'unsubscribe' should they want
to be taken off the waiting list.
for their email addresses.

How-to
Create ads and landing pages according to the Prototype Fund templates. Decide what you
want to test and build accordingly.

See Prototype Fund template.

27
 Online Ads
2 business days
Answers these questions:
How can I confirm that this is my customer/target audience?
Which key message is best at attracting customers to our product?
Are people really interested in our solution/product?
What pieces of information do we need to provide to our customers in order for them to
understand and use the product?
How do we prioritise the feature set?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting/
creating?

Google Ads, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook campaigns are a great way of running audience and
feature validation tests or surveys. The Google network, Facebook and LinkedIn platforms allow you to
drill down demographics to the particular target customer you’re trying to reach, letting you run simple
tests to see which features or aspects of your product are most appealing.

With Google Ads or a Facebook campaign you should always have a strong ‘Call to Action’ so a reason
for people to click. For example, the Call to Action could be “register for a free account now” or “register
to become a beta-tester”. These campaigns also need to have landing pages or FB pages as these are
the pages where people ‘land’ after they click and usually contain additional information. These pages
can also be used to conduct additional experiments.
Via the Facebook or LinkedIn analytics dashboard and Google Ads analytics plus Google Analytics you
can gather and interpret the results.

Example 01: Facebook Campaign

Experiment: Which creative execution (photo, headline and Call to Action) generates the
most interest?

Example 02: Google Ads Campaign

Experiment: which messages, incentives or layout appeal most to customers and generates
the most traffic.

28
 Example 03: LinkedIn Campaign
Experiment: Are people interested enough in the topic to click to join a webinar on the subject?

Desktop: Mobile:

How-to
1. Pick your platform
2. Download the corresponding template
3. Analyse the results after the campaign
4. (optional) add extra ad spend

See Prototype Fund template.

29
 Category:

Solution
The Tools:
Fake door (refer back to page 26)

Online Ads (refer back to page 28)

Comprehension testing

Card sorting

Concierge testing

Landing page

Facebook / Linkedin page

Solution interview

Paper test

Demo / Explainer video

Marketing video

Wizard of Oz

Competitor Research

Wireframes

Clickable App Prototype

30
 Comprehension Testing 1 business day

Answers these questions:

What pieces of information do we need to provide to our customers in order for them to
understand and use the product?
Does our customer understand your solution?

Comprehension tests are simple to run and usually take less than an hour. The aim is to test if your
message and value proposition are easily understood. Sample sizes of your test should generally be
around 20 people and don’t need to be target customers: you are testing the understanding of your
value proposition, not whether they are interested in it.

How-to
1. Write down your value proposition in 1-3 sentences.
2. Show this to participants for a few moments (just enough to read it).
3. Take it away and ask the participants to explain the value proposition in their own words.

Great things
never came from
comfort zones.

31
 Card Sorting 1 business day

Answers these questions:

How do we prioritise the feature set?
What is the minimum feature set?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting?
What features will provide the best solution?
Are we missing any features?

Card sorting is a ‘low-tech’ method used to help design or evaluate the information architecture,
feature sets, workflow, menu structure or site navigation paths of your solution/website or mobile app.

These Card Sorting sessions will help you understand your users’ expectations and understanding of
your topics. It is often most useful once you have completed some preliminary exploration of features,
target audience research and problem definition.

In a card sorting session, you organise and group topics into categories that make sense to you, this
may also help label these groups.

Knowing how you (or your users) group information can help you:
• Build the structure for your website or app
• Decide what to put on the homepage/ home screen
• Label categories and navigation
• Determine what the must-have features and functions are for your MVP

How-to
1. Identify key concepts and write them on index cards or Post-it notes.
2. Arrange the cards to represent how you see the structure and relationships of the
information so in any way you think is logical, and give each group a category name,
either from an existing card or by writing a name on a blank card.
3. Repeat this process across a group of test subjects.
4. Analyse the results to discover patterns.

32
 Concierge Testing 5 business days

Answers these questions:

Does the solution solve a real customer problem?
How can the problem be solved?
What is the minimum feature set required to implement a solution?
What are the biggest issues you come up against when trying to solve the customers problem?

Concierge Testing is a technique to test the solution to a customer problem by manually performing
tasks as an automated service. In a concierge test the value proposition is delivered as a service. Like a
hotel concierge, the focus is on a highly customised customer facing service. For this method you need
to perform the tasks manually usually with a handful of customers. This high-touch method allows you
to get quality feedback from the targeted audience.

A key advantage of this method is that services can be almost instantly adjusted at a very low cost so
iterations based on insights from customer feedback are easily carried out. But the main benefit of
this method is to generate ideas around the potential solution/product and identify any obstacles to
implementing that solution.

To conduct a successful concierge test you need to be clear about your value proposition and
have it well formulated. The goal is to test the solution and figure out if it matches your customer’s
expectations.

When using the service your customers should go through the same steps as they would go through
later with your final product solution.

Start with just a small batch of customers. While delivering your service keep collecting feedback from
your customers and adjust your service accordingly. After some time you learn what your customers
exact expectations are and what is really valuable to them. You can then gradually automate the parts
of your service that work and ensure they are a part of your MVP.

Concierge tests can be a time consuming test to perform as it requires manually solving the
customer problem. For a complex B2B IT solution, a concierge solution can be a complete consulting
engagement lasting many months — for these, it is often possible to charge for the solution up front
which eliminates any resource constraints.

For a consumer, it might be as simple as personally going shopping with a customer.

How-to
1. Write down the value proposition that needs to be tested.
2. Design the value proposition as a personalised, customer touching service.
3. Talk to potential customers (early adopters) and offer them your service, possibly in
exchange for a payment.
4. Execute the service by performing tasks manually even though it is not efficient or cost
effective.
5. Gather learnings and act on learnings.

33
 Landing Page
Answers these questions: 3 business days
Are people really interested in our solution/product?
What pieces of information do we need to provide to our customers in order for them to
understand and use the product?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting?
What feature will provide the best solution?

A landing page is a standalone web page that evaluates whether a particular type of customer wants a
proposed product based on actual behaviour (as opposed to a declared preference).
A landing page is where a visitor “lands” when they have clicked on a Google Ads, LinkedIn or other
marketing and advertising campaign.

These landing pages describe the features or product idea. The potential customer confirms their
interest by:

1. Leaving an email address or

2. Selecting a product bundle and going through a (simulated) checkout process. (See Dry Wallet, page x).
Via your landing page analytics tools (most often Google Analytics), you can gather and interpret the results.

Example 01 To test which Call to Action (CTA) button placement works best, and to gauge
interest amongst target audience by asking them to sign up for a beta membership.

34
 Example 02

35
 Example 03 More extensive landing page used to conduct multiple experiments.

• Experiment to test which features of

a portal would appeal most to those
interested. Based on what people click on,
team could tell what was most useful.

• Experiment to test the type of information

visitors would be interested, but done in a
very inexpensive way (via Google Docs).

• Experiment to validate the type of

customer who is interested in a potential
app and certificates.

• Experiment to track interest in a webinar

via email and data capture.

How-to
1. Fill out the prototype fund template and upload it.
2. Analyse the results.

Please note that if you want your landing page to be in a different language than
English to upload the script in that language as well as the English translation.

See Prototype Fund template.

36
 Facebook Page / LinkedIn
Company Page 2 business days

Answers these questions:

Are people really interested in our solution/product?
What pieces of information do we need to provide to our customers in order for them to
understand and use the product?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting?
What feature will provide the best solution?
Is the product idea attractive to a particular segment or niche?

A Facebook or LinkedIn page is a page that captures interest from customers after they have clicked on an
ad from within that platform.

These pages help evaluate whether a particular type of customer is interested in a product or solution
based on actual behaviour (clicking through and then taking any additional further action). It can also be
a place to provide further information about your product and services if you don’t want to create a stand
alone landing page.

Ideally the page should further explain the features or product idea. Customers express interest by reacting
to a call to action on these pages, like ‘liking’ or ‘following’ or signing up for a webinar or whitepaper.

Example 01 Facebook Page

37
 Example 02 LinkedIn Company Page

How-to
This is not really an ‘experiment’, but rather part of another experiment you might run. If
you are running an experiment which requires you to have a Facebook/LinkedIn page you
will be asked to create one. You can ask the prototype fund team to do this for you using the
Facebook Page template below. (For setting up a LinkedIn page, this is part of the LinkedIn
Ads template – see 04. Ads)

The extra mile is

never crowded.

38
 Solution Interview 5 - 10 business days

Answers these questions:

Does our customer understand your solution?
Does the solution solve a real customer problem?
How can our problem best be solved?
What are the greatest problems in effecting a solution for the customer?

In the Solution Interview the main goal is to confirm the value proposition as the right solution for the
customer need. This differs from a product demo because a product demo gives the solution a very
specific shape. The two things are fundamentally different. Putting a determined solution in front of the
user before having validated the main value proposition is most probably premature and could end in a
falsified experiment. Always try to conduct a Solution Interview before you create a product demo.

When determining the questions you will ask during your interview prepare for potential triggers. Each
of the key signals listed below (along with strong associated emotions) should immediately prompt a set
of smart and focused follow-on questions to further clarify the customer situation and hopefully lead to a
realistic assessment if and how your product fits into the specific context.

Money cost: When a customer is mentioning a specific amount of money that is lost every time a specific
inefficient process take place (that could be fixed by your product).

Workaround: When a customer mentions specific tricks or procedures they take to obtain a specific result.

Person: When the customer notices that a person or role in their company is particularly impacted by a
faulty process.

Numbers: When the customer describes a specific metric that is critical achieving in their business goals
and this factor is also affecting them personally.

Barrier: When the customer mentions specific challenges that prevent them from performing in their job
at their fullest potential.

How-to
Preparing the interview: (Note that this type of interview needs to be thoroughly prepared
and will take more time to prepare than the problem interview.)

• Decide precisely what you want to learn.

• Define your customer segment.
• Formulate your assumptions.
• Explore with big questions. Use techniques from the problem interview. Formulate
questions in a way that all answers are equal.
• Ask open questions.
• Have questions prepared for the potential ‘triggers’ (see above).
• Ask for behaviours, not opinions.

39
 Paper Test 3 business days

Answers these questions:

How do we priorities the feature set?
What is the minimum feature set?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting /
creating?
Is this an easy experience?
Is it logical?
Is it clear what the benefit of the solution is to our customer?
Is it clear to our customer what we are trying to achieve?

Quickly test your solution / idea by simulating user-product interactions using paper drawings and cut-outs.
Paper testing can also be used to help generate and evaluate design alternatives during ideation or it can
be used as early usability testing. One person is the product user while the other simulates the behaviour
of the product in response to the user’s actions using paper mock-ups of screen images or other user
interface elements.

You are looking for places where the customer gets stuck, was not able to find what she was looking
for, or accidentally went down a wrong path. Anything that is misleading, confusing, or hard-to-find is
noteworthy.

If anything like this happens, you’ll want to dig into what information the customer was missing that led to
the confusion and how might that information best be provided (or how it might need to be eliminated).
You also want to look for situations which may have come up where the customers response was not
defined, or where an action was possible where you did not want one to be possible.

How-to
1. For each screen / interface that is part of the interaction you are testing, create a simple
mock-up on paper illustrating what will appear on the screen for the various scenarios
you are exploring.
2. One person (or a pair) plays the role of the customer / end user (Customer).
3. Another person (or several people) plays the role of the software (Computer).
4. The Customer interacts with the paper prototype as if it is a “real” application, physically
interacting with the paper interface just as they would the real thing. They are
encouraged to explain their thinking out loud as much as possible.
5. For each action the Customer takes, the Computer then moves / updates the paper
prototype to reflect the new state in response to the Customer’s action. As a general rule,
the Computer should not talk.
6. For more formal forms, observers would typically watch for additional insights and
capture notes. You might want to have a facilitator, as they can encourage the Customer
to ask questions and think aloud .
7. If you want, alternate interaction flows and layouts, and/or modifications to proposed
interactions can be quickly mocked up and tested if you want to make immediate changes.

40
 Demo / Explainer Video
Answers these questions: 6 - 7 business days
Does our customer understand our solution?
Does the solution solve a real customer problem?
How can our problem best be solved?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting /
creating?
Are we missing any features?

Creating and showing a demo video helps explain your solution to a potential user or customer for
the purpose of gathering feedback on a problem. You create the illusion that your product is real and
developed by recording and editing a ‘real-life’ scenario involving the use of your product.

This method is versatile because it can also help you gather insights about a solution you have built
and whether or not a target audience is willing to pay to use your solution. When you show your demo
video to potential customers, you are looking to validate your customer pain points, the impact of
those pains, and pitch your solution to those pains.

You can present personally or share a link to the recording or explainer video and follow up with a
digital survey with open and closed questions.

How-to
Fill out the prototype fund template and submit it to get your video created.

See Prototype Fund template.

41
 Marketing Video
Answers these questions: 2 - 3 weeks
What type of customer is interested in this offer?
Which key message is best at attracting customers to our product?
Are people really interested in our solution/product?
What pieces of information do we need to provide to our customers in order for them to
understand and use the product?
Are customers interested enough to take action?
Does your customer understand your solution?

A Marketing Video is essentially an advertisement for your solution. It’s an animated or live action video
used to promote or market your product or service and can include your brand name, vision, benefits and
a product demo. A marketing video is different from an explainer video or demo video in that is focuses
more on the benefits rather than how the product or solution works and is therefore more emotional than
a demo/explainer video.

Here is an example of a marketing video from one team within an insurance company. The video
went viral internally and created a lot of support for the team: https://youtu.be/LFaPcA8uH3I

How-to
Fill out the prototype fund template and submit it to get your video created.

See Prototype Fund template.

42
 Wizard of Oz 3 - 5 business days

Answers these questions:

Which feature will provide the best solution?
How do we prioritise the feature set?
What is the minimum feature set?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting?

Wizard of Oz testing involves one or more individuals simulating fully functioning product features without
the use of technology. All inputs, outputs, and algorithms are performed manually by humans, but without
the knowledge of the customer.

This allows you to test a complete solution and gain accurate feedback from the customer without the cost
of building a complex, fully automated solution. It’s usually not a ‘quick and dirty’ prototyping method as it
requires higher commitment of resources. The Wizard of Oz test can provide valuable information especially
quantitative data. Also you can gather information about the nature of interaction with your product.

This tool is often confused with Concierge Testing.

Example: IBM Speech to Text

IBM wanted to test a new idea of translating speech into written text. So they placed a monitor in a room
and asked people to speak into a microphone. As people spoke, they could see the words appearing on the
screen in front of them. What they didn‘t know was that they had hooked up speakers to the next room
where a typist was typing what she was hearing on her keyboard, and this would appear on the screen in
the other room. So the device didn‘t yet work.

The learning was two fold:

1) users complained about a lack of privacy and confidentiality as now everyone in the open office could
hear what they were saying.

2)They also commented about getting a sore throat from speaking too much. So although everyone said
initially they loved the idea and would buy the device, after this experiment it was clear people would not
use the product.

How-to
1. Build a prototype of your product without the fancy algorithms / technology.
2. Allocate at least one person (the “Wizard” behind the curtains) who simulates the
interactive behaviour of the product.
3. Show your product to your users and let them use it.
4. Collect data to see if your product delivers value to your users.

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 Competitor Research 2 - 3 business days

Answers these questions:

What do our customers like most about our competitors product or services?
Are we focusing on the right feature(s) or are there other features we should be highlighting/
creating?
Are we missing any features?
What feature(s) will provide the best solution?

Competitor Usability Testing is the practice of having people in your target audience use competitors’
products or services to learn what kind of value propositions actually solve their problems or pains. This
is also a great method for generating ideas around your solution and identifying new pain points in
your target audience.

How-to
1. Identify competitors to research.
2. Ask subjects to use their product / service.
3. Observe their behaviour and ask them what they enjoyed, didn’t enjoy, what could be
done better or what they missed in the experience.

Pay it
forward.

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 Wireframes 1 business day

Answers these questions:

What’s the userflow through the experience?
How do people navigate through the solution?
How does the solution work?

Wireframes are a low-fidelity visual guide that represent the functional framework of an app or
website. They can be as simple as drawn sketches or you can use software to help create wireframes.
Wireframes force everyone to think clearly and objectively about an app or website’s functionality,
conversion paths, navigation placement, feature placement and ease of use.

Wireframes ensure that each page has a purpose, achieves the goals set out in the brief and define a
logical navigation for your solution.

How-to
1. Map out your user flow.
2. Sketch your screens.
3. Get the help of the prototype fund by submitting the ‘Landing page’ or ‘Clickable App’
template.

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 Clickable App Prototype
Answers these questions: 5 business days
Is it clear what the benefit of the solution is to our customer?
Is this an easy experience?
Are we focusing on the right feature or are there other features we should be highlighting/
creating?
How can we improve usability?
Where do people get stuck?
Can this be simplified?
Is it logical?
What's out customer's overall propensity to use the product?

A clickable prototype or design prototype is an interactive prototype, usually of an app, with limited
functionality that allows users to navigate from page to page or from section to section to help
determine preliminary usability and navigational paths. You can showcase your solution to customers on
the phone or via a laptop. It can bring your solution to life with out having to actually develop the solution
and therefore helps you to understand if the solution you are trying to build is the right solution.

How-to
Fill out the prototype fund template and submit it to get your clickable app
prototype created.

See Prototype Fund template.

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 Category:

Messaging & pricing

The Tools:
Focus groups (refer back to page 23)

Fake door (refer back to page 26)

Online Ads (refer back to page 28)

Comprehension testing (refer back to page 31)

Landing page (refer back to page 34)

Facebook / Linkedin page (refer back to page 37)

Solution interview (refer back to page 39)

Demo / Explainer video (refer back to page 41)

Marketing video (refer back to page 42)

Competitor Research (refer back to page 44)

Email with call to action

Tear-off flyer

Dry wallet

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 Email with Call to Action or
Landing Page 3 business days

Answers these questions:

Which key message is best at attracting customers to our product?
Are people really interested in our solution/product?
What pieces of information do we need to provide to our customers in order for them to
understand and use the product?

Creating and sending an email is a great way to gauge interest in your product or service if you already
have an identified audience. Your email should contain a brief description of your product or service
and a ‘call to action’ that entices readers to click or take action such as registering their interest in a
future product or service or to become beta testers.

Results can validate interest and demonstrate understanding of the key benefits of a solution, product
or service.

Example:
My Bayer World

How-to
1. Determine what you want to measure and then draft the email with the ‘call to action’.
2. Send email and tally the responses.

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 Tear-off Flyer
Answers these questions: 3 business days
Which key message should we use to attract customers to our product?
Are people really interested in our solution/product?
Are customers interested enough to take action?

A flyer / brochure lets you explain your value proposition and messaging and the tear-off tabs can be used
to gauge interest in the offering or product. Tear-off tabs on a flyer let people walk away with information
while saving them the trouble of taking notes.

Tear-off flyers can be hung in office elevators or in the restrooms, at the cafeteria or other spaces where
people congregate.

Example:

How-to
1. Decide what you want to test.
2. Create the flyer and tear off sheets.
3. Hang up sheet.
4. Count how many people tear off the tabs.

See Prototype Fund template.

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 Dry-Wallet 5 - 7 business days

Answers this question:

How much are people willing to pay for a service / product?

Qualitative

This can be a part of the ‘solution interview’. During the interview you can ask people if or how much
they would pay for your product or services. By attaching a monetary value to your offering, you can
gauge if their interest is genuine or if they are only being polite.

By asking them about payment, you’ll start hearing insights that you wouldn’t have heard otherwise,
because people will only part with their money if they truly see the value in a product or service.

Quantitative

to be used in combination with a landing page.

In order to test whether customers will actually purchase your products or sign up for a service, and for how
much, you can simulate a “purchase now” experience. This may take the form of a simple e-commerce
check-out, a prompt for them to sign up for a particular level of service or a letter of intent request.

If you are trying to determine which features a customer will pay for, you can split them up into
different levels of service, each with a distinct price and gauge response.

You don’t actually charge the visitor any money, so to collect the data but still provide a good
experience simply respond with an “out of stock” message (or selecting from other suitable phrases), by
letting the customer know that the offering has temporarily been halted due to product upgrades and
you will be in touch as soon as the product or service is offered.

Via your landing page’s analytics tools (most often Google Analytics), you can gather and interpret the results.

Experiment:
To validate which feature set is the most appealing. Visitors are presented with three levels of
service to choose from.

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 How-to
1. Determine what you want to ‘charge’ for your product or service. It can be different
options or a different offerings at different price points.
2. Create and launch digital mock-ups and drive traffic to the page.
3. Track the results of the experiment and iterate accordingly.

See Prototype Fund template.

I don't stop when

I'm tired, I stop
when I'm done.

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 Category:

Usability (UX)
The Tools:
Paper test (refer back to page 40)

Demo / Explainer video (refer back to page 41)

Wireframes (refer back to page 45)

Clickable App Prototype (refer back to page 46)

Smoke test high bar

Usability testing (high level)

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 Smoke Test (High Bar) 2 - 7 business days

Answers this question:

What’s our customer’s overall propensity to use the product?

A High Bar Test helps to gauge the customer’s willingness to invest time and effort in order to get the
product / solution. This test is focused on having the customer go through a set of activities containing
abnormal amounts of usability friction (e.g. a very long, complicated signup form) to gauge the customer’s
desire for a particular solution.

Example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QmCUDHpNzE&index=1&list=
PLL4Lse9mfCgLvcgE9F3ZP6MmVW7N1blq7

This video was created to demonstrate how dropbox works, even though it had not yet been
developed. With some clever editing, it faked the experience of syncing files between different folders
on a computer. At the end of the video, people could register for access to dropbox using a sign up
form. From this sign up form, they even added in another “high bar” experiment which was to make
the form so complicated to complete, that it would take 3 hours to complete. Even so, thousands
of people completed the form showing they were really willing to use the product. This was all the
evidence needed to raise the millions of funding required to build the solution.

How-to
1. Determine what information you want to gather.
2. Use any experiment type but make it harder for the customer to demonstrate the
behavior you have chosen to measure. Creativity is required!

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 Usability Testing
Answers these questions: 2 business days
How can we improve usability?
Is this an easy experience?
Where do people get stuck?
Can this be simplified?
Is it logical?

Usability testing is a tool used to evaluate a built product or service by testing it with your target audience.
During a test, participants will try to complete typical tasks while the team watches, listens and takes notes.
The goal is to identify any usability problems, collect qualitative and quantitative data and determine the
participant’s satisfaction with the product.

How-to
1. Decide what you want to test.
2. Select your user group.
3. Invite them and ask them to carry out certain tasks.
4. Observe their behaviour, ask questions, take notes and make necessary amendments.

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 Category:

Visualising / Selling
The Idea
The Tools:
Logo

Pimp my pitch deck

Product design sketch

360 degree model

Photorealistic rendering

Demo / Explainer video (refer back to page 41)

Marketing video (refer back to page 42)

Wireframes (refer back to page 45)

Clickable App Prototype (refer back to page 46)

Tear-off flyer (refer back to page 49)

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 Branding
Answers this question:
How do I visualise my idea?

A. Logo
Answers these questions: 3 business days
I’m excited, how do I get started?
How do I brand the team?

You have a team name and the beginnings of your elevator pitch and are keen to get started with
experiments. One of the first things you can do is to give your start-up a logo/brand. This will then be
applied to surveys, website, apps, prototypes your pitch deck, etc. It’s the first step in making your idea
concrete.

How-to
See Prototype Fund Template.

B. Pimp my Pitch Deck

Answers these questions: 5 business days
How do I make sure my pitch gets funded?
How do I make sure people don’t fall asleep during my pitch?
How do I make my pitch deck prettier?

Don’t show up to pitches or meetings with a boring corporate slide design that sends people right to
sleep. Your goal is to inspire and to get funded!

Pitches last only 7 mins, so much of your key info needs to visually pop from your slides and support
your oral message. Pitches contain only minimal text which has to go hand in hand with your visuals.

How-to
1. Follow the pitch deck outline to make sure you have the right content for each slide.
2. After numerous iterations, and practice time presenting (remember you only have 7
minutes, ensure you have max 15 slides with the final content and speaker notes (no
spelling mistakes or typos!)

See Prototype Fund Template.

Note
You must have all of your speaker notes written so the designers know what you are trying
to say. The designers will NOT help you with the content, if you need help, make sure you ask
your mentor for guidance.

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 Product Design Sketch
Answers these questions: 2 business days
How do I visualise my product idea?
How could my product be developed?
How can I improve the design of my idea?
How do I make my product more desirable?
How do I achieve high recognition with my (range of) products?

A product design sketch is a first impression of what your future product will look like. Having a visual
to show to people will help you when you are conducting experiments like customer interviews,
comprehension testing or during your pitch.

A product sketch will also help you to identify any areas in which you can improve your design – as our
designers have extensive product design experience and will be able to offer suggestions on how to make
your product more desirables to customers.

Option 1a: Just follow the proposed design

The designer will created an analogue or digital design drawing based on the information
your team provides them with. The designer will follow your instructions to create a first
impression of the design direction.

57 The images on this page were created by our physical prototype fund partner unyt
 Option 1b: Follow but challenge the design
The designer will provide you with an alternative solution based on his experience and
outsiders perspective. They will suggest how to make your product more desirable.

Option 1c: Create design principles

Design principles primarily serve the transparent
communication of the structural design idea
behind the concept. On the other hand, they
serve a simple transferability to other products
of a family to create homogeneity. They are also
useful to clearly distinguish different design
approaches from each other without already
designing the details.

How-to
Fill out the prototype fund template and submit it to get your product design sketch created

Please note that regardless of which option you would like to select (1a, 1b or 1c) you will
always start with 1a first. Depending on the selected option the designer will simply
follow your vision, offer alternatives or even create design principles for you.

58 The images on this page were created by our physical prototype fund partner unyt
 360 Degree CAD Model
Answers these questions: 3 business days
What will my product look like in 3D?
How complex will my product be?
What number of parts will my product have?
Can we foresee any future construction and/or production issues?
How can we (aesthetically) optimise the idea/product?

A 360 Degree CAD model is a live view of your product (or key feature) in 3D. This is delivered in a 3D PDF in
which users can turn the visualisation of your product, zoom in and out and in some versions even see how
it is assembled.

Having a 360 Degree Model will provide you with an interactive and detailed way to show off the key
features of your product including proportions and dimensions. Plug this into explainer or marketing videos
to help you raise development funds.

Option 2b: A simple (1 mono-part) surface and volume model as rotatable 3D file.
This is a more detailed and elaborated design, based on the product sketch of your idea and
allows you to evaluate and verify the product idea further.

Option 2c: A semi-detailed (1 multi-part) surface and volume model as rotatable 3D file.
A semi-detailed model can already slightly show the complexity and possible necessary
number of parts with regards to later construction and production issues.

59 The images on this page were created by our physical prototype fund partner unyt
 Option 2d: A detailed (1 assembly containing several single parts) surface volume as
rotatable 3D file.
A detailed model can also already slightly show the complexity and possible number of parts
needed, with regards to the later construction and production issues. With an exploded view
you are able to more effectively show a feasible way of assembling the future product.

How-to
1. Make sure you have your product design sketch (1a, 1b or 1c)
2. Fill out the 2a template to schedule your call with the product designer
3. Based on their recommendations you will decide which of the examples shown above is
most suitable for your product idea

Please note that you will need a program like Acrobat Reader DC to be able to open a
3D Pdf file.

60 The images on this page were created by our physical prototype fund partner unyt
 Photorealistic Rendering
Answers these questions: 2 business days
What will the look and feel of my finished product be?
How will my product look from different perspectives?

A photorealistic rendering, including defined materials, colours and product graphic, which brings your
idea to live. You can use this rendering in your explainer or marketing video, on your landing page or during
your final pitch to show what your product could look like.

Option 3a and 3b: Photorealistic rendering of your product.

Option 3C: 360 degree movie of your product.

Go to the online platform to see a live example.

How-to
1. Make sure you have at least a semi-detailed CAD model
2. Start with option 3a (photorealistic rendering)
3. Based on your requirement and the designer’s advice you can choose to proceed to
option 3b or 3c

61 The images on this page were created by our physical prototype fund partner unyt
 The Prototype Fund

62
 Submitting requests to the
Prototype Fund
Here is how you submit requests to the Prototype Fund:

01. Navigate to 02. The tool will 03. Select all templates from the menu. Double
www.afce.co and be on your click to enter it.
log in with your dashboard.
credentials. Double click to
enter it.

04. Click on ‘find all 05. Fill out the template. 06. Submit your template in the
templates here’ portal.
and download
the template you
are looking for.

07. Once you see the

following screen you
know your template
has been received.
The prototype fund
team will review
your template and
will reach out to
you by email if they
have any further
questions.

Please reply to the team promptly if they have any further questions, they will not be able to
start working on your request until you do!

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 Prototype Do’s and Don’ts
Ensuring on-time delivery of assets and requests from the Prototype Fund.

Do’s:

01. Read the emails from the Prototype fund and quickly answer any questions that might be
asked in the email. Failure to answer any questions usually results in delayed timelines.

Note:
The prototype fund will not chase you or the team for answers to their questions so the responsibility
is yours to follow up — not theirs.
While the prototype fund team is responsible for setting up the experiment / delivering the materials,
it is the team’s responsibility to answer any questions they have while working on your request.

02. Ensure you submit a completely filled out template. If you leave out sections this might mean
the team has to reach out to you for further information, delaying the delivery. Giving them the
context will help them to tailor the deliveries to your specific needs.

03. Accept the invitation from the prototype fund project manager for a call to further clarify.
Sometimes the PM will want to speak to you or the team to get more insight into your project.
These calls will greatly improve the quality of the work the team can deliver to you.
If time zones are a constraint please list what time zone you are based in and give a range of
options that would work for you (the team is generally quite flexible).

Don’ts:

01. Don’t wait more than 2 days to review the deliveries. You have a limited amount of time
in this program so speed is important. If you need any iterations to the deliverables (item
permitting) make sure you communicate this to the team as soon as possible.
If you do not respond to the team’s questions within 5 working days week your requests will be
marked as completed.

02. Because of time zone issues, don’t always expect immediate replies to your queries. Most
of the team is based in the IST time zone, meaning that your day might already their night time.
The team will reply to you as soon as they return to the office the next day.
Take note of the delivery times per experiment are listed on the template. These delivery times
are for the first delivery and additional time might be needed to execute on (larger) iterations.

03. Expect that the prototype fund will chase you for answers to their questions. They support
multiple teams and will not have the time to ensure they get answers in time to meet their
committed turnaround times.

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 Appendix.

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 GDPR Compliance FAQ’s
General Data Protection Regulation
What is GDPR?
GDPR is a regulation that requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens
for transactions that occur within 28 EU member states. And non-compliance could cost companies
dearly.

What types of privacy data does the GDPR protect?

• Basic identity information such as name, address and ID numbers
• Web data such as location, IP address, cookie data and RFID tags
• Health and genetic data
• Biometric data
• Racial or ethnic data
• Political opinions
• Sexual orientation

What does this mean for the solutions I’m building and the experiments I’m running?
This means that you will need to follow a ‘privacy by design’ principle. This calls for the inclusion of data
protection from the onset of the designing of systems.

Privacy by design as a concept has existed for years now, but it is only just becoming part of a legal
requirement with the GDPR. At its core, privacy by design calls for the inclusion of data protection
from the onset of the designing of systems, rather than an addition. More specifically - ‘The controller
shall.. implement appropriate technical and organisational measures.. in an effective way.. in order to
meet the requirements of this Regulation and protect the rights of data subjects’. Article 23 calls for
controllers to hold and process only the data absolutely necessary for the completion of its duties (data
minimisation), as well as limiting the access to personal data to those needing to act out the processing.

Do I need to state anything or ask for consent if I’m collecting a person’s email address (and any
further information) for future contact?
Yes, but if you are using the Prototype Fund then your project manager will take care of this for you.
If your landing pages use cookies, a pop-up will appear that asks for consent. If you collect email
addresses then the user must tick a box that states they understand what the email will be used for
and that they understand and comply with the Terms and Conditions.

What happens if I don’t collect email addresses but still want to track how people navigate my
website/landing pages?
You don’t need to ask for consent if you are just implementing Google Analytics and are not planning
on recontacting any visitors to your landing pages.

Who can I check with to ensure that we are GDPR compliant?

The Prototype Fund will ensure you are GDPR compliant.

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How do I ask for consent?
The conditions for consent have been strengthened, as companies will no longer be able to utilise long
illegible terms and conditions full of legalese, as the request for consent must be given in an intelligible
and easily accessible form, with the purpose for data processing attached to that consent - meaning it
must be unambiguous. Consent must be clear and distinguishable from other matters and provided in
an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. It must be as easy to withdraw
consent as it is to give it.​

Explicit consent is required only for processing sensitive personal data - in this context, nothing short of
“opt in” will suffice. However, for non-sensitive data, “unambiguous” consent will suffice.

Parental consent will be required to process the personal data of children under the age of 16 for online
services; member states may legislate for a lower age of consent but this will not be below the age of 13.

Is there a boilerplate sample that I can use?

Yes, the Prototype Fund has this boilerplate consent as well as a boilerplate Terms & Conditions.

What happens if there is a data breach?

Under the GDPR, breach notification will become mandatory in all member states where a data breach
is likely to “result in a risk for the rights and freedoms of individuals”. This must be done within 72 hours of
first having become aware of the breach. Data processors will also be required to notify their customers,
the controllers, “without undue delay” after first becoming aware of a data breach.

Are people allowed to ask what data I have stored about them?
Part of the expanded rights of data subjects outlined by the GDPR is the right for data subjects to obtain
from the data controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning them is being
processed, where and for what purpose. Further, the controller shall provide a copy of the personal
data, free of charge, in an electronic format. This change is a dramatic shift to data transparency and
empowerment of data subjects.

Do people have the Right to be Forgotten?

Also known as Data Erasure, the right to be forgotten entitles the data subject to have the data controller
erase his/her personal data, cease further dissemination of the data, and potentially have third parties
halt processing of the data. The conditions for erasure, as outlined in article 17, include the data no longer
being relevant to original purposes for processing, or a data subjects withdrawing consent. It should also
be noted that this right requires controllers to compare the subjects’ rights to “the public interest in the
availability of the data” when considering such requests.

If requested, do I need to share the data that I collected about someone?

GDPR introduces data portability - the right for a data subject to receive the personal data concerning
them, which they have previously provided in a ‘commonly use and machine readable format’ and have
the right to transmit that data to another controller.

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 Glossary
Here are some useful terms and
phrases you might come across
while experimenting.

Analogue: Not involving or relating to the use of computer technology, as a contrast to a digital counterpart. For
example a hand drawn, rather than computer generated, image.

Digital: Involving or relating to the use of computer technology, as a contrast to an analogue counterpart. For
example a computer generated image, a digital clock, etc.

Pretotype: Comes before prototype. It’s a way to invoke a behavioural reaction from your target customer
allowing you to measure their reaction to something e.g. watching a fake video of how your solution works. The
phrase “fake it until you make it” is often used to express pretotyping.

Prototype: The stage after pretotype. It’s a way to measure your target customers behaviour whilst they are
interacting with an early version of your solution, which has functional parts to it.

A/B Testing: A/B Testing is a way of working that tests multiple variants (variant A and variant B) of a certain
element against each other in order to discover which variant performs the best in maximising a desired
outcome (e.g. click-thru to website or click to subscribe on a landing page).

Design Principles: Fundamental pieces of advice for you to make easy-to-use, pleasurable designs. You apply
them when you select, create and organise elements and features in your work. Design principles represent the
accumulated wisdom of researchers and practitioners in design and related fields. When you apply them, you
can predict how users will likely react to your design.

Mono Part: Object consisting of only one part.

Multi Part: Object consisting of multiple parts.

3D CAD File: A digital file of an object that was created using 3D CAD software or through 3D scanning. It is
generally displayed as a two-dimensional image using 3D rendering or visualisation.

Beta group testing: In software development, a beta test is the second phase of software testing in which a
sample of the intended audience is exposed to the product. The main goal is to get real-world exposure for your
prototype and to know how your customers will react to your product, service or solution.

MVP: Stands for minimum viable product. If you are not embarrassed by your first release, then it means you
are not launching early enough.

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 There’s a way to
do it better. Find it.

69
 @innovationmojo
[email protected]
www.afce.co
+49 (0) 152 2301 8392

Copyright 2021 © Academy for Corporate Entrepreneurship

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