Rapid Prototyping in Agile Development

Rapid prototyping is the process where the designer creates a prototype that simulates the future application/website. A prototype is interactive, which is what makes it look and function almost like the final product. However, there is no actual working code behind the prototype, which is where the part ‘rapid’ comes from.

The goal is to design a very basic version of the product quickly (=rapidly) and give it to the goal audience, the team, and the client for testing.

Rapid prototyping takes place during the UX/UI design part of development. It gives the end-users the feel of the product and allows them to give their feedback. A rapid prototype is not just a visual mockup because it focuses more on the user experience, while a mockup puts the user interface in the spotlight.

Think of it as a house of cards. To change one of the cards in the first row, you have to pull it out carefully and replace it with the right one, making sure the house doesn’t fall. With the Agile approach, you know that all the cards are the right ones before adding the top rows.

Don’t go chasing waterfalls if you want to focus on your end-user and go for sprints instead.

During the next step of rapid prototyping, the designer takes on the job and designs a fully functional clickable prototype. He includes the features which the customer and the provider have agreed on.

The following step of the cycle is sharing the prototype with the team, the customer, the client, and the target groups.

The prototyping analysis can take shape in different forms. Think of it as finding the perfect road to get to your final destination: you want it to be efficient, fast and with as little bumps as possible.

For example, the provider and the client may decide on A/B testing. If there are two options presented for a feature, the best way to pick one is to test them both, where A is the first option and B is the second one. By removing the less relevant options, you narrow down the features of your product to the perfect customer fit.

Another way to receive feedback on the prototype would be to collect the user data. Seeing whether the software is used in the expected way and how it is used allows to drop redundant functions and stick with the ones that smoothly bring the user to the final destination.

Once the feedback on the rapid prototype has been received, it is time to implement it. If the feedback corresponds with the initial vision of the goal, the team can proceed. In case if there are alterations needed, the team agrees on them and the designer creates a new version of the rapid prototype.

The main advantage of rapid prototyping is that it focuses on the end user’s needs. Very often we tend to forget that our view of the problem and its solution is different from what our end customer has in mind. Rapid prototyping gets us into the user’s, allows us to get precious feedback, and tailor the product to the user’s need.

It is common to confuse a rapid prototype with an MVP. However, a prototype is actually a key step towards an MVP.

A prototype tests the user experience while the MVP tests both the user experience on a larger level and the market itself. This build up towards the final product allows to make improvements faster and avoid changes once the product has been launched.

The possibility to ‘rewind and adjust’ in rapid prototyping is a huge blessing that can also become a curse. While it is easier to modify a feature without re-writing the code, it is also easier to fall down the rabbit hole of perfection. Too many meticulous changes in the search for perfection can delay the delivery of the product and mess with the whole idea in general.

Another potential drawback of rapid prototyping is to go into too many details on the features right from the start. Both the client and the provider need to agree on the basic functions that will be tested during the rapid prototyping phase. Remember to keep it simple and stick to the main functions. Think of it as the skeleton, the basis. You will add the muscle and the nervous system later on.

At Moqod, we apply the Lean Startup method when it comes to rapid prototyping: we start with the basic features, we collect feedback on them and we improve all the time. Progress, not subjective perfection.

On our projects we work with different tools during the prototyping stage. These instruments consists form simple paper and pencil to more complex tools such as Figma, Zeplin and Invision. Each of these ways has its ups and downs, but they all allow you to build a fully cross-functional and sufficient prototype.

Our view of rapid prototyping is battle-testing your application/website before the real battle on the market. We work with the best software to make sure we pinpoint your audience and save you both time and money. Our goal is not to bill you endless coding hours. Our goal is to create an efficient solution to make your business thrive and take your product to the spotlight it deserves.

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