spike

A spike is a disposable prototype used to validate ideas and test technical feasibility before committing to full development. Use a spike when you need to research unknowns, compare approaches, or determine if a new feature is worth pursuing.

To test feasibility quickly, create a disposable prototype through a structured research and build loop. This process involves decomposing the problem, researching solutions, building a minimal prototype, and verifying the results to validate your idea.

You can compare technical approaches by creating disposable prototypes for each option. This allows you to rapidly test feasibility, evaluate unknowns, and determine the most viable path forward before committing extensive development resources.

Yes, creating disposable prototypes requires a basic understanding of software development practices and tools. This foundational knowledge is necessary to effectively decompose problems, research solutions, and build functional experiments.

The best way to reduce time on unproven concepts is to use a structured prototyping process to validate ideas early. By testing core functionality in disposable experiments, you minimize resources spent on unviable features before full development.

You should avoid disposable prototypes when full development is already justified or the concept carries no technical unknowns. Prototypes are specifically designed for researching unknowns and comparing approaches, not for building production-ready features.