prototyping

What Is A Prototype? Prototyping In A Nutshell

Business / By / January 11, 2022

A prototype is a sample version or simulation of a product that is used to evaluate a process or concept. The intention of creating a prototype is to test and validate ideas before they are communicated to stakeholders and ultimately, the product development team. Prototypes can be as simple as a storyboard sketch drawn on paper that captures the user experience or as detailed as a full-scale mock-up.

What makes up a prototype?

A fundamental reason for developing prototypes is their ability to pinpoint and solve user experience issues. Indeed, the involvement of end-users in the process allows UX teams to optimize the user experience as the product takes shape. This ensures that solutions can be implemented as required, which allows the company to avoid expensive last-minute fixes.

Prototypes must possess four core characteristics:

  • Interactivity – this describes the degree of functionality that is open to the user. For example, it may be fully functional, partially functional, or view-only. Good prototypes should also be able to carry out the functions of the product itself.
  • Precision – a good prototype should have a precise shape, size, or material quantity. Precision is expressed as either low-fidelity (process simulations) or high-fidelity (realistic, working simulations).
  • Representation – the prototype should also be a good representation of the design, not only in terms of appearance but also in the way the product works. 
  • Evolution (improvisation) – this describes the entire lifecycle of the prototype. Some are created and tested before being discarded and replaced with an improved iteration. Other prototypes may be created and successively improved upon over time to form the end product. The best prototypes are improvised with the least amount of effort.

How does prototyping work?

While exact procedures will vary from one organization to the next, there are three general steps to prototyping. These are discussed below:

  1. Prototype – the team starts by building a visual and functional prototype based on requirements set forth by the client. User experience and design best practices are both considered at this stage.
  2. Review – here, the developers share the prototype with their teams and evaluate it according to how well it satisfies the needs of the client. The prototype is then shared with the client who may provide additional feedback to the team’s initial evaluation.
  3. Refine – when feedback is provided, the developers can then set about improving or refining various aspects of the prototype.

Note that there is a common misconception that the process only needs to be completed once or twice and at the end of the design process. Depending on the complexity of the design, the team may be required to cycle through four or five prototyping sessions or continue to iterate until all stakeholders are satisfied.

Key takeaways:

  • A prototype is a sample version or simulation of a product that is used to evaluate a process or concept. Prototypes help teams pinpoint and solve user experience issues earlier in the process and avoid expensive fixes later on.
  • A prototype possesses four main characteristics: interactivity, precision, representation, and evolution (improvisation).
  • Prototyping involves a three-step process where teams develop a prototype, seek client feedback, and then refine the prototype according to that feedback. The process should be repeated multiple times, particularly for more complex products.

Connected Business Frameworks

product-development
Product development, known as the new product development process comprises a set of steps that go from idea generation to post-launch review, which help companies analyze the various aspects of launching new products and bringing them to market. It comprises idea generation, screening, testing; business case analysis, product development, test marketing, commercialization, and post-launch review.
user-experience-design
The term “user experience” was coined by researcher Dr. Donald Norman who said that “no product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service – from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly.” User experience design is a process that design teams use to create products that are useful and relevant to consumers.
cost-benefit-analysis
A cost-benefit analysis is a process a business can use to analyze decisions according to the costs associated with making that decision. For a cost analysis to be effective it’s important to articulate the project in the simplest terms possible, identify the costs, determine the benefits of project implementation, assess the alternatives.
empathy-mapping
Empathy mapping is a visual representation of knowledge regarding user behavior and attitudes. An empathy map can be built by defining the scope, purpose to gain user insights, and for each action, add a sticky note, summarize the findings. Expand the plan and revise.
perceptual-mapping
Perceptual mapping is the visual representation of consumer perceptions of brands, products, services, and organizations as a whole. Indeed, perceptual mapping asks consumers to place competing products relative to one another on a graph to assess how they perform with respect to each other in terms of perception.
value-stream-mapping
Value stream mapping uses flowcharts to analyze and then improve on the delivery of products and services. Value stream mapping (VSM) is based on the concept of value streams – which are a series of sequential steps that explain how a product or service is delivered to consumers.
moscow-method
Prioritization plays a crucial role in every business. In an ideal world, businesses have enough time and resources to complete every task within a project satisfactorily. The MoSCoW method is a task prioritization framework. It is most effective in situations where many tasks must be prioritized into an actionable to-do list. The framework is based on four main categories that give it the name: Must have (M), Should have (S), Could have (C), and Won’t have (W).
scaled-agile-framework
The scaled agile framework (SAFe) helps larger organizations manage the challenges they face when practicing agile. The scaled agile framework was first introduced in 2011 by software industry guru Dean Leffingwell in his book Agile Software Requirements. The framework details a set of workflow patterns for implementing agile practices at an enterprise scale. This is achieved by guiding roles and responsibilities, planning and managing work, and establishing certain values that large organizations must uphold.
kanban
Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy.
minimum-viable-product
As pointed out by Eric Ries, a minimum viable product is that version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort through a cycle of build, measure, learn; that is the foundation of the lean startup methodology.
leaner-mvp
A leaner MVP is the evolution of the MPV approach. Where the market risk is validated before anything else.

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