Prototyping

Introduction to Prototyping
 Lecture Outline
Overview of prototyping and different definitions of a prototype.

The purpose of prototyping.

History of Prototyping.

The Primary Characteristics Of A Prototype.

How Prototypes are produced and their appropriate use in software development.

Advantages and Disadvantages of prototypes.

 Prototype Definitions
a first or preliminary version of a device or vehicle from which other forms are developed.

is an early sample, model or release of a product created to test a concept or process. Typically, a prototype is used to evaluate a new
design to improve the accuracy of analysts and system users. It is the step between the formalization and the evaluation of an idea.

is an incomplete version of a physical or digital product, to be taken into user testing. It should incorporate all of the fundamental
features and functions, without the final design elements that create a polished aesthetic.

is a process in which design teams ideate, experiment with, and bring concepts to life, ranging from paper ideas to digital designs. At its
core, a prototype is an early sample of a design that allows users to visualize or interact with it before a final product is developed.

At its simplest level, a prototype is an early model of an object that you build to test a design. Prototypes are drafts of your final version,
focusing on functionality and giving your stakeholders a clear picture of your final product.

the prototype can be a realization of interaction and navigation from one point in a product to another
Prototyping

• A prototype is a middle to high fidelity representation of the final product.

• A prototype is about the presentation of ideas.
• Can be as sophisticated or as crude as you want.
• May (rarely) mimic the whole system.
• May evolve into final product or be replaced by an idea that worked better.
• Experience content and interactions with the interface.
• Test the main interactions in a way similar to the final product.
• Different prototyping methods suit different situations.
Prototyping Fidelity
• The fidelity of a prototype refers to its level of completeness and
detail.
Prototyping Fidelity

High fidelity – much closer to

final, very detailed and much
more time-consuming.

Medium fidelity –
slightly more detailed,
still rough but closer
to the solution.

Low fidelity – low

cost, rough and
quick to build.
Wireframe vs mockup vs prototype
• Wireframe: A wireframe is a blueprint or schematic that helps
communicate the structure of your app or website to the relevant
stakeholders.
• Mockup: A mockup is a high-fidelity render of your design that
showcases how the finished product will look.
• Prototype: A prototype is an early model of a product that focuses on
functionality and gives your stakeholders a taste of the final version.
• Wireframes communicate structure from a low-fidelity point of view,
mockups highlight a product’s design from a high-fidelity point of
view, and prototypes focus on a product’s functionality along with the
design
 Why Prototyping?
prototyping is essential to creating successful software and successful user experiences.

Prototyping ensures success because of its clear depiction of software requirements: instead of describing requirements it visualizes them.

prototyping allows us to experiment in the safety of a form which can be easily changed without much loss of time or wasted effort when compared to re-
programming software.

For idea refinement and requirements and communication with stakeholders and evaluation are still relevant for modern software, but the drivers are
more sophisticated and complex.

The purpose of a prototype is to have a tangible model of the solutions to the problems already defined and discussed by the designers during the
concept/idea stage.

Prototypes allow designers to validate their concepts by putting an early version of the solution in front of real users and collecting feedback as quickly as
possible.

Prototypes often fail when tested, and this shows designers where the defects are and sends the team “back to the drawing process” to refine or repeat
the proposed solutions based on real user feedback.
Historical
Perspective Of
Prototyping
• Leonardo da Vinci: left
behind prototypes of
concepts and ideas (in the
form of drawings) that
would take centuries to
come to fruition.
Inventions of
Leonardo da Vinci:
parachute
Thomas Edison: used exhaustive prototyping as the
engine that drove his inventive ideas.
Henry Dreyfuss: used prototypes to make industrial products more user-centered and
ergonomically sound.
• These three people illustrate how a prototype serves one primary purpose: the means of
moving an idea from the human imagination to a form that other humans can readily see,
understand, evaluate, use, and further develop.
• Each has made remarkable contributions to design and the process of invention, and each
has explored the possibilities of their inventions with prototypes.
The Primary Characteristics Of A
Prototype
Representation

Improvision Precision

Functionality
Representation
• The product should be a good representation of the actual product.
• This way, it can be used for testing and deducing potential issues with the
product.
• For this reason, prototyping companies work hard to ensure that the
prototype looks exactly like the design.
• Representation does not only refer to the appearance of the product. It
also refers to the way the product works.
• Note that another role of creating a prototype is to ensure that a product
works the way it should.
Precision
• A good prototype should also be highly precise.
• This means that elements like the size, shape, material quantity, and
overall design should be precise.
• Precision allows for better response and feedback.
• It also makes it easy for the manufacturer or designer to make alterations
after feedback has been given.
Functionality
• Additionally, a good prototype should be highly functional.
• This means that it should be able to achieve the purpose for which the product
design was created.
• As mentioned before, a prototype should work like the design or product is
meant.
• Therefore, the prototype should be able to perform the essential functions of
the actual product.
• Note that sometimes this may not be possible because of failures in the design
and not the prototype.
• However, this is one of the reasons for creating prototypes. The product will be
tested in such a case, and changes will be made to allow for functionality.
Afterward, another prototype will be created and tested.
Improvision
• A good prototype can be improvised with the least amount of effort.
• This is important for the prototyping service provider since there may be
some issues with creating the prototype.
• Sometimes, the designers do not account for all design elements when
creating sketches for their ideas.
• Therefore, a prototype manufacturer has to improvise severally in an
attempt to bring the concept to life. For this reason, a prototype is usually
subject to several improvisations.
Prototyping can help answer the
following questions:
• Will the design work properly?
• Can the design be produced economically?
• How will users respond to the design?
• Which approach can be taken to get from concept to product?
• How can prototyping support product design specification?
• How can prototyping contribute to better product scheduling and budget planning?
Prototype stages
How Prototypes are produced

• In general, the prototyping process partitioned into three classifications: Alpha, Beta, and Pilot.
• Different product developers may use alternative terminology such as minimum viable product (MVP) and
proof of concept (POC).
• Each phase represents a step forward along a product roadmap and corresponds to an increasing score
along the Technology Readiness Level scale.
• New product designs generally go through several prototype iterations before they are deemed ready for the
production line.
The Alpha Phase

• The alpha phase represents the first iteration of prototypes and is primarily concerned with answering two
questions:
• Will the product work?
• How will it look and feel?
• Answering these questions usually necessitates two separate prototypes, each one specifically created to
address basic functionality and user experience respectively. We can refer to these first two as the proof of
concept and the appearance prototypes.
The Beta Phase

• As you go into beta, everything is becoming fully formed. The product is now fully functional and it’s pretty
much visually representative.
• The beta phase seeks to refine and improve upon the product design, taking testing feedback and lessons
learned from earlier iterations and incorporating them as the process inches toward a final product.
• This phase relies on two new versions: the engineering prototype and the production prototype. This level
of detail typically requires a team with significant prior experience in product design and manufacturing and
is typically the stage where Inertia is relied upon the most.
The Pilot Phase

• The final prototype is really the start of mass production and is called the pilot.
The advantages of Prototyping
• Functionality
• Serve Stakeholder
• Save time & money
• Collaboration among team
• Provide user feed back
• users can really feel the product
• Test the usability of the product to find problems
• Easy to communicate with users, leaders and other relevant people
• Improve the efficiency of product design
The disadvantages of Prototyping
• Incomplete analysis(accuracy issues)
• User confusion (Users may get confused between the prototypes and
actual systems).
• Misunderstanding end users
• High focus on one part of the product
• Feasibility (design must reflect need)
• Too much effort may be invested in building prototypes.