Rapid prototyping is a cyclical approach towards design that focuses on quickly creating a functional, interactive prototype of a website or web application. The prototype is tested with potential users and stakeholders to check how the concept, usability and viability of the product are received. Based on the feedback gained through testing the prototype is then improved and iterated upon. The cycle of prototype, test and iterate is repeated rapidly until the developers are confident the prototype is ready to go into full production or release.
The rapid development and iteration of interaction prototypes, for testing purposes.
Rapid prototyping is an effective method for quickly communicating how a design might work. Though it cannot completely replace extended and more in-depth usability testing, it can help quickly identify major interaction, navigational, structural and presentation issues in a product.
As prototypes are produced and subsequently iterated upon quickly they can often be developed with minimal costs. Risk can also be mitigated as it enables designers to identify and resolve major issues during the prototyping process early on, rather than after time, resources and other costs have been invested.
Despite this, a risk with rapid prototyping is that designers may not have sufficient time to properly consider the implications of their design and explore viable alternatives. Therefore it should not be seen as a silver bullet and should be employed when appropriate, particularly if there is a shortage of time and/or budget.
