Believe it When You See it
Harold Hambrose · 2012
A prototype can take many forms. Sometimes even a sketch on a napkin is enough to suggest the form of an idea or a concept and elicit reactions from an audience, reactions that drive further refinement of the idea or confirm the appropriateness of the form. A prototype also may be a full-scale model, or a set of blueprints. When the prototyping techniques of the traditional design process are absent, the software development cycle poses three significant risks: accuracy, innovation, and cost. Few things are more important to any business initiative than these three elements. But whenever software prototypes are used only to prove the stability of the code and to incrementally move an application to delivery, all three elements suffer. Most software is built according to a requirements document that describes in prose exactly what a software product do.