Prototype improvement
Pinocchio Test
The Pinocchio Test is a hands-on way to explore an experience before anything actually works. You create a simple, non-functional version of your solution and ask users to pretend it’s real. By simulating use, with imagination filling the gaps, you can observe behaviors, reactions, and friction points early, without investing time or money in building the real thing.
Why Use this tool?
Learn fast by acting it out.
This test helps you uncover usability issues, missing moments, and unexpected behaviors that are hard to spot on paper. It’s especially useful when you want to explore physical interactions, flows, or usage frequency, and when building a working prototype would be slow or expensive
what you should know
Start With: A solution or experience you want to simulate (even very roughly)
End With: Concrete feedback and ideas to improve the solution
Time Needed:
• Preparation: Low
• Execution: 15 minutes to several days (depending on the simulation)
• Analysis: Medium
Difficulty: ⭐ ⭐⭐ ☆☆ (3 out of 5 – simple to run, requires good observation)
People:
• 1-5 participating in the simulation
• 1-2 coordinators observing and guiding
A quickguide to start
2. Build a fake version. Create a simple, non-functional prototype using basic materials or everyday objects.
3. Set the scenario. Explain the context and ask users to imagine the product fully works.
4. Run the simulation. Let users act out how they would use it, once, or over a short period.
5. Observe closely. Note behaviors, workarounds, pauses, and reactions.
6. Reflect together. Ask users to share what felt natural, confusing, or missing.
helpful tips
- Focus on how it’s used, not how it’s built.
- Physical qualities (size, weight, reach, visibility) are especially powerful to test this way.
- You can simulate a full journey or just one critical moment, both are valuable.
RACU meets AI
Pinocchio Test
How Can AI Make RACU Easier ?
AI can be your creative partner and research assistant, ready to help you move faster and think deeper at every step of the RACU process.
For each RACU tool, we’ll share a ready-to-use AI prompt. Just copy the prompt into your favorite AI tool (like ChatGPT or Copilot) and it will guide you through the method step by step.
The AI becomes your facilitator, asking the right questions so you can build your thinking as you go. No need to fill out a blank form, the prompt starts the conversation and adapts to your answers in real time.
PROMPT – COPILOT, CHAT GPT
You are a facilitator helping me complete a Research & Discovery Card for a design thinking challenge.
Guide me step-by-step by asking the following questions one at a time, and wait for my answer before moving on. You can ask follow-up questions if needed to clarify or improve my responses.
Start with general context:
1. What is the challenge, project, or topic you’re working on? (Briefly describe the scope or goal.)
Then go into Research (existing data):
2. What existing information do we need to gather to better understand this challenge?
3. Where can we get that information? (e.g., internal reports, dashboards, previous research, public sources)
4. What specific questions will this data help us answer?
5. Who on the team will be responsible for gathering this information?
Then move to Discovery (new research):
6. Who should we learn from? (e.g., users, clients, collaborators, stakeholders)
7. Where can we find or reach them?
8. What topics, needs, or behaviors should we explore in the research?
9. What discovery methods could work best for this challenge? (Examples: interviews, shadowing, observation, journaling, immersing yourself in the experience, etc.)
10. How many people should we involve or study?
11. When will this research happen?
12. Who on the team will lead or coordinate this discovery work?
At the end, summarize my answers as a Research & Discovery Plan with two sections:
- Research (existing data)
- Discovery (new fieldwork)
Use bullet points and keep it simple enough to copy into a worksheet.
