Prototyping

What is Prototyping?

Prototyping (rapid prototyping) is the quick, cost-effective creation of preliminary versions of a product, service, or process. The goal is to make abstract ideas tangible and gather early feedback from real users or stakeholders.

Prototyping is a central element in Design Thinking and the Lean Startup methodology. The core idea: test a simple version quickly rather than spend a long time building a perfect solution that nobody wants. Prototypes are learning tools—they don’t need to be finished, they need to deliver insights.

Types of Prototypes

Depending on the development phase and objective, different prototype levels are used:

• Low-fidelity prototypes: Paper sketches, wireframes, storyboards—created quickly, ideal for early concept validation
• Mid-fidelity prototypes: Clickable mockups, interactive wireframes—simulate the user flow without final design
• High-fidelity prototypes: Visually and functionally close to the final product—for detailed user feedback and investor presentations
• Functional prototypes: Technically operational but limited in scope—the classic MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
• Service prototypes: Simulation of services through role-playing, Wizard of Oz tests, or pilot projects

Rapid Prototyping Process

1. Define learning question: What exactly do we want to find out with the prototype? Which hypothesis are we testing?
2. Choose fidelity level: How detailed does the prototype need to be to answer the learning question?
3. Build quickly: Hours to a maximum of a few days—speed over perfection
4. Test: With real users, not within the team. Observe, don’t explain. Understand users’ Jobs to Be Done
5. Learn and iterate: Evaluate insights, adjust or discard the prototype, start the next iteration

This cycle is part of the Build-Measure-Learn loop of Lean Startup and the testing phase in Design Thinking.

Prototyping Methods and Tools

• Paper prototyping: Sketches on paper—no tool required, ideal for workshops and initial idea validation
• Digital prototyping: Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch—for interactive app and web prototypes
• No-code/low-code: Tools like Bubble, Webflow, Glide—functional prototypes without programming
• 3D printing: Physical prototypes for products—faster and cheaper than traditional manufacturing
• Wizard of Oz: The service is manually simulated while the user experiences an automated solution
• Landing page test: Create a website describing the product—measure purchase interest before it’s built
• Video prototype: An explainer video showing the solution—ideal for complex services or business model innovations

Benefits of Rapid Prototyping

• Risk reduction: Identify mistakes early and cheaply instead of late and expensively
• Customer-centricity: Real user feedback instead of internal assumptions
• Speed: Days instead of months from idea to testable concept
• Communication: Prototypes make ideas tangible—for the team, customers, and investors in the pitch deck
• Creativity: Rapid prototyping encourages experimentation—test many ideas instead of perfecting one
• Achieve product-market fit faster: Iterative testing shortens the path to the right offering

Common Prototyping Mistakes

• Investing too much: A prototype should be disposable—if too much time has been invested, discarding it becomes difficult
• Perfectionism: The prototype doesn’t need to be beautiful—it needs to deliver insights
• Wrong fidelity: Building too detailed too early wastes time; too simple too late delivers no insights
• Testing with team instead of users: Internal feedback is no substitute for real user reactions
• Testing only once: Prototyping is iterative—one round is rarely enough
• No clear learning question: Without a hypothesis, even the best prototype yields no actionable insights