Working Prototype

“A prototype is defined as an original model on which something is patterned.” wrote Richard Levy in The Inventor’s Desktop Companion.

Basically, a prototype is a working model of your idea that will show how the product will work and its purpose is to allow users to evaluate the developers proposals for the design of the eventual product. Armed with a good prototype, an entrepreneur is able to show to potential investors how the product will work without relying on power-point presentation or his power of description.

“Time is money.” An argument against working prototypes is about the time spent for building it. The truth is that creating working prototypes doesn’t take time, design take. The lack of intentional design process in a prior version will often kill the whole product.

Working prototypes reduce time and improve the quality of requirements of the user. Also, development costs are reduced because the early determination of what the user really wants can result in faster and less expansive software.

“User feedback.” Introducing the user in prototype process, to interact with a early product version, provide a more complete feedback and specifications.

This prevents the many misunderstandings that occurs when each side believes they understood each other. Because the user knows the problem domain, the development team must refine the product according to users feedback. The final product is more likely to satisfy users requirements this way.