Technical term
What is prototyping?
In short, prototyping is when you create a temporary version of something, such as a product or service, to test how it works in practice.
Prototyping is the practice of developing a prototype. A prototype can be defined as an early version of a model, system or service that is used to test a concept, functionality and user experience before the final version is produced. Prototyping is an important part of design processes, whether in product design, software design or service design.
What are the purposes of a prototype?
- Prototyping a product or service will help a company to confirm whether the product or service will work in reality. This helps to reduce the uncertainty and risk of the end product.
- Developing a prototype will also streamline communication, by clearly presenting design ideas and concepts, both internally and externally. This will create a shared understanding of how the product or service will look and function.
- Finally, prototyping provides an opportunity to detect and solve potential problems early in the process, and this can both reduce costs and save time.
Summary
Prototyping is like a "test drive" of something new - it allows you to check if everything works as it should, while allowing for fine-tuning and improvement before launching a finished product or service.