Prototype (5 min)

What is a prototype and why is it needed? A prototype is a demonstration product, model, or demonstration process for your actual product or service. Prototyping is used to test the concept behind your actual product or service.

Prototypes may differ in their level of design fidelity. They can be divided into low-, medium-, or high-fidelity prototypes. The level of design fidelity chosen during prototyping depends on the purpose of the prototype. A low-fidelity prototype can be used to demonstrate a visual design and does not need to have practical features. Therefore, the more goals set for a prototype, the greater the design fidelity required and the more it must resemble the actual product. For example, you can make a low-fidelity example of a gaming controller that has buttons in place, but they are not pressable. A high-fidelity prototype of the same product could already be used in games, so that you can actually test whether the positioning of the buttons, the materials used, etc. are actually suitable for the game player.

Once the vision for the actual service or product is in place, the cheapest way of making an actual prototype is figured out. Cardboard, paper, note papers, tape, pens, and the like are suitable tools for a low-fidelity model, to visualise your idea to a stranger. Prototyping often uses, for example, paper sketching, virtual prototyping using a computer program, CNN milling, 3D printing, fabric sewing, and much more. The prototyping of a product and a service also differ from one another. The product is an object, and if there is a vision of the object, the sample must be completed. However, a service is a type of activity. When making a prototype of a service, for example, you can use drawings to depict how the service process takes place what the customer does before consuming the service, what they do during consumption, and what the result of the service is for the customer. Prototyping may be viewed as a creative step that can be done with excitement.

Once the prototype is complete, we ask for feedback. This can be requested from acquaintances or strangers, depending on your product. For example, there is no point in asking for feedback from the elderly on skateboards you designed, because they are most likely not your potential customers. So, when you go testing, it is worth thinking about where you can find people in your respective field. Once you have found them, the customer can give feedback on what speaks to them and what does not. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that any feedback must be treated subjectively, because people have different backgrounds and it is not possible to please everyone. It is also worth noting that songs of praise alone are of no help in further developing the product, so constructive criticism is absolutely essential to remaining competitive.

Prototyping is necessary for a company to save time and money, because when entering the market with an untested solution, it may become evident that the customers do not really need it. This way, in order to save both time and money, it is worthwhile to make a prototype from the most convenient means possible and collect feedback until a sufficient number of potential customers have been found.