The Criteria to Avoid when Prototyping

This rule of prototyping goes against my family's criteria when shopping. Sasta - sundar - tikau i.e. low cost - aesthetic - long lasting. Over three years, I have seen mine and other families follow these criteria which is overkill for prototyping.

The goal of a prototype is to show that an idea has some legs.

You're trying to answer if the approach imagined is workable. It's the immediate step after a brainstorming session where tons of ideas were generated. The next step is to see how one idea can work in real life.

If the prototype fails, we move to to another idea.

There is no point hammering over something that will not work. Move on to the next experiment. If an approach will not work, it is better to fail fast and cheap.

Consider prototyping as a giant experimentation phase.

Try multiple approaches. Be open to jugaad here. If it doesn't work, move on to the next idea. The worst thing to do is to make a fancy setup requiring large team and a significant budget.

How does one prototype?

School projects are a good example. They tend to use cardboard and stickers. Most look ordinary despite what the students think. Yet they demonstrate how an approach could work. Plus didn't cost much. That is goal achieved.

I consider white boarding or flow charts as a first cut prototype. Drawing the different blocks will allow other nuances to emerge. If you struggle with a block diagram or a flow chart, the idea needs more thought before you can allocate more resources.

Lego is a fun and fast approach. Bring these bricks and you can't help but create. If it doesn't work, dismantle and start over.

Prototyping enables rapid experimentation.

Try multiple approaches. Fail fast and cheap. That is the main rule when prototyping.

That's it for today.

Happy Ideating!

Hemang.