Building a prototype marks a significant milestone for a start-up, transforming ideas into tangible things that people can touch and see. The excitement and anticipation surrounding the prototype often leads to a rush to showcase it to potential customers and investors.
Amid all the excitement, it is crucial to resist the temptation to transition too quickly from prototype to production. While prototypes can generate huge amounts of momentum for the business they are not yet a saleable product.
Prototypes and products are two distinct phases of the same project. This article quickly explains their purpose and the differences between them.
Prototypes, mock-ups and proof of concepts
Prototypes come in all shapes and sizes and can be whatever you need them to be to demonstrate product-market fit. They can either be a simple non-functioning cardboard or 3D printed mock-up or they can be complex hand-built fully functioning devices.
During the development of the Razr mobile phone (remember those?!) the team made cornstarch models of potential case designs. These were turned into 3D CAD models and used to make plastic mock-ups which were then iterated on.
These early mock-ups were the first steps for a product that went on to sell over 130 million units. Prototypes are essential for iterating ideas and they allowed the Razr team to make dozens of changes before finalizing their case design.
Products
Products are the culmination of dozens, if not hundreds, of design decisions that converge into a single product design. This product design must as a minimum:
- meet all the user and product requirements
- be cost effective to build and manufacture
- comply with applicable regulatory standards
There are also other design factors depending on the market you are selling into. For example, the product design form and its aesthetic appearance may be critical and there may be constraints about the product’s size, weight, colour, materials and finish.
Other design factors may need to be incorporated such as environmental and eco-design requirements. These will determine how the product is serviced, repaired and disposed of. These can present their own sets of challenges and constraints on the design.
A product will also need to be packaged before it can be shipped. This packaging may include a user manual or safety instructions and any accessories or peripherals that are needed. Some packaging may require custom branding, artwork and labelling.
Prototypes -vs- products
Here is a summary of the main difference between prototypes and products:
Where are you on your product development journey? Have you built a prototype yet? If so, how are you developing it into a complete product?
