prototyping

Prototyping validates user testing assumptions by matching fidelity tiers to specific questions, using paper for structure or clickable models for interaction flow, ensuring design uncertainty is resolved through early discovery before committing resources.

Selecting prototype fidelity depends on the question: paper prototypes test structure, clickable prototypes validate interaction flow, and code prototypes verify performance and edge cases, ensuring you resolve design uncertainty with the cheapest appropriate test.

Use throwaway prototypes to answer specific design questions cheaply and discard them, whereas evolutionary prototypes are built to be refined into the final product, and concept prototypes focus on early discovery and stakeholder alignment.

Prototyping supports stakeholder alignment by making abstract design concepts concrete for review. It also applies to technical spike scenarios where assumptions about system integration or performance must be verified cheaply before full implementation.

Define what the prototype will prove by specifying the core design question to answer, selecting the cheapest fidelity tier to test that assumption, and determining how you will validate the results with stakeholders or users during testing.