A prototype is “A simulation or sample version of a final product, which UX teams use for testing before launch.”

The goal of a prototype is to test and validate ideas before sharing them with stakeholders and eventually passing the final designs to engineering teams for the development process.

Prototypes are essential for identifying and solving user pain points with participants during usability testing. Testing prototypes with end-users enables UX teams to visualize and optimize the user experience during the design process.

Prototypes have four main qualities:

• Representation — The prototype itself, i.e., paper and mobile, or HTML and desktop.
• Precision — The fidelity of the prototype, meaning its level of detail—low-fidelity or high-fidelity.
• Interactivity — The functionality open to the user, e.g., fully functional, partially functional, or view-only.
• Evolution — The lifecycle of the prototype. Some are built quickly, tested, thrown away, and then replaced with an improved version (known as “rapid prototyping”). Others may be created and improved upon, ultimately evolving into the final product.

Paper Prototyping

Paper prototyping works best during early design stages where UX teams collaborate to explore many concepts fast. Team members sketch ideas by hand using simple lines, shapes, and text. The emphasis is on lots of ideas and speed, not aesthetics.

Advantages of Paper Prototypes

Disadvantages

Digital Prototyping

Digital prototyping is an exciting part of the design process. Prototypes start to resemble the final product allowing teams to test and validate ideas.

There are two types of digital prototypes:

• Low-fidelity prototypes: a user flow using wireframes
• High-fidelity prototypes: a user flow using mockups

Advantages of Digital Prototyping

Disadvantages