With and understanding of what a prototype is, let's discuss it in application.
When Should You Prototype?
As early as possible. The earlier you can build something tangible that will allow you to test your concept or idea, the better off you will be. We will dive into why this is so important in the next section.
Why Should You Prototype?
The idea of a prototype is to learn how to build a new product, and to test it for fit and function. Any changes that might be made as a result of lessons learned can be applied before the product goes to production.
Consider an automobile manufacturer. Imagine if they skipped building the prototype of a new car. Using designs produced by their engineers, they developed all the custom tools needed to produce the parts of the car. A year was spent setting up the whole production line. Any parts needed from subcontractors are put on order. Now, as the first chassis moves down the production line, we learn that the door handles molded by a subcontractor do not fit in the newly designed doors. The auto manufacturer already owns 10,000 door handles and invested $50,000 into tooling to make doors. Do you invest in new tooling, or buy new door handles?
By building a prototype, the car manufacturer would have learned that the door handle would not fit before investing in tooling and inventory.
This is an extreme example. You might be thinking that these problems are avoided with the advancements in 3-D computer aided design (CAD). Sometimes the issues are more nuanced. What if the door handles fit, but every new owner living in a cold climate finds the door handles shatter on the first cold day? A prototype put through substantial field use would have illuminated the problem and saved costly re-work, and the businesses reputation.
Who Should Build Your Prototype?
You! Initially.
Really, at the very early stages of ideation anyone can build a prototype. The first iterations do not have to be perfect, complete versions of the final production design. A prototype can be a crude cardboard, duct tape, and 2x4s kind of thing. This very early version we refer to as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The important thing about an early prototype is that you can learn if it is a good idea or not quickly. If it is, the early prototype or MVP will be a nice way to convey the idea to professionals who could build a production level prototype. If not, you can cut your losses early.
Some businesses have departments specifically focused on new product development and prototyping. Other businesses hire firms with the sole purpose of developing new products. An engineering design firm will have a team of engineers with experience developing new products. They may also have in-house prototype building capabilities. The best firms will have a strong process that begins with understanding the problem and ends with a prototype that is the solution.
Where Should You Test Your Prototype?
A prototype should be tested “in the field” as early and often as possible. Let us imagine that you are designing a new ball for children to play with outside.
There is a tendency to make many assumptions about the environment, or test in controlled environments like our office or laboratory. This is a good start, but the end user is not an adult working in an office. It is a child playing in a school yard. There is NO replacement for giving a prototype of your new ball to an elementary school child at the beginning of recess, sitting back and observing.
This is when you learn that the material you chose has no bounce when it is cold in winter. Or that it becomes hard to grip when it gets dirt on it. You will likely learn something new about the end use. You like the dark green color but did not consider how often the end users lose the ball in the woods.
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The famous expression is that a picture is worth a thousand words. We also now say that a prototype is worth a thousand pictures. Prototypes are invaluable. They may seem expensive or time consuming, but they always teach us lessons, and save us time and money in the long run.