Catalog
method#Product#Delivery#Architecture#Software Engineering

Prototyping

A structured, iterative method for rapidly creating models or simulations to test assumptions, gather feedback, and support decision making.

Prototyping is an iterative method for rapidly creating tangible models or simulations of a product or feature.
Established
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Business
  • Design
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Prototyping tools (e.g. Figma, Axure)Usability testing platformsIssue trackers and project management tools

Principles & goals

Work iteratively, test quickly and learn.Focus on hypotheses and measurable assumptions.Use tangible artifacts to foster dialogue.
Discovery
Team, Domain

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Misinterpreting prototype behavior as final functionality.
  • Investing heavily too early in unvalidated solutions.
  • Bias from non-representative test participants.
  • Start with low fidelity and selectively increase fidelity.
  • Test early with real users.
  • Define clear hypotheses and measurable criteria before each test.

I/O & resources

  • Problem or goal definition
  • Assumptions and hypotheses
  • Prototyping resources (tools, time, people)
  • Tested prototype artifacts
  • User and stakeholder feedback
  • Recommendations for product decisions

Description

Prototyping is an iterative method for rapidly creating tangible models or simulations of a product or feature. It enables validating assumptions, collecting early user feedback, and reducing risk. Useful in discovery and design phases to clarify requirements and align stakeholders on potential solutions.

✔

  • Early validation reduces costly misdirection.
  • Rapid user feedback improves product decisions.
  • Clear communication basis for stakeholders.

✖

  • Prototypes can obscure technical details.
  • High fidelity can increase time and cost.
  • Not always representative of production characteristics.

  • Hypothesis validation rate

    Share of tested hypotheses that were confirmed or disproved via prototyping.

  • Time to first feedback

    Time from prototype start to first actionable feedback.

  • Number of iterated variants

    Number of prototype versions tested within a cycle.

Clickable mobile prototype

An interactive click-through mock to validate navigation and flow in early user tests.

Frontend concept prototype

A functional HTML/CSS/JS prototype to check technical feasibility and performance.

Wizard for complex configurations

Prototype of a configuration wizard to validate user journeys and error scenarios.

1

Define goals and hypotheses; set success criteria.

2

Choose appropriate prototype type and fidelity level.

3

Rapidly build prototype and conduct internal reviews.

4

Plan and run user tests; collect feedback.

5

Analyze results and plan next iterations.

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Provisional implementations mistakenly promoted to production.
  • Unstructured prototype artifacts hamper reuse.
  • Missing documentation of test results leads to repeated mistakes.
Availability of test usersTime and budget constraintsTechnical feasibility limits
  • Building elaborate prototypes before core assumptions are tested.
  • Only testing with internal colleagues and ignoring external users.
  • Discarding prototype results without documentation and decisions.
  • Misreading user reactions as broad user opinion.
  • Too high fidelity creates false stakeholder expectations.
  • Losing focus on the hypothesis under test.
Basic UX methodology skillsAbility to rapidly create visual artifactsModeration and interview skills
Rapid iteration cyclesReusable components for testingEasy integration of user data for feedback
  • • Observe data protection in user tests
  • • Limited resources for high-fidelity prototypes
  • • Not all interactions can be simulated without a backend