The prototyping process is an essential component of product development. Without the benefit of prototypes, it is all but impossible to say with certainty whether a product is actually going to work or not. Even with the advanced simulation capabilities that businesses have access to today, nothing can beat an actual physical prototype for product testing.
Knowing how to approach your first prototyping exercise can be difficult. Below are some crucial tips that any business gearing up to produce its first prototype needs to know.
Why Prototypes Are Important
To understand how to best approach the prototyping process, it is helpful to first understand exactly why prototypes are such an important part of the product development process.
Confirm Your Designs
One of the most important purposes of prototyping is to confirm that your product designs are suitable. The prototyping process should highlight any deficiencies in your design and give you an opportunity to fix them. If you try to move straight from a product concept to a working version without taking any steps in between then you are setting yourself up for disaster. Without a thorough prototyping process to confirm your designs, you could end up paying through the nose for the production of a product that doesn’t even work or meet your own standards.
However, as long as you prototype your product properly, you will be able to rigorously test every aspect of your designs and confirm the features that you want to include with your product. This means no nasty surprises further down the line and ensures that you and your customers can both be a lot more confident in the quality of the final version of your product.
Get Feedback Early
Feedback on your designs early on in the process is much better than waiting until you are approaching launch to discover any issues. Fixing problems in your design earlier on in the process tends to be a whole lot cheaper and a lot less of a hassle overall. Prototyping early also leaves you plenty of time for further iterations. Rather than aiming to produce a single prototype to represent your product, you should instead aim to produce several versions, one after the other. Each version of your prototype should build on the lessons that you have learned from the last and culminate in the finished product.
Build On Your Design Iteratively
Producing a single test version of your product and then trying to fix every single issue that you have identified in preparation for your final launch is going to leave you scrambling to fix all of your problems at once. On the other hand, a slower iterative process enables you to focus on the most important issues and solve them one at a time. This, in turn, means that you have longer to consider each one and come up with viable solutions.
A Smoother Production Process
With a thorough prototyping process, you can be confident that you have caught any potential issues with your product concept and design long before you approach your initial manufacturing run. Prototyping also enables you to be more confident when exploring new ideas. Without the benefit of a prototype to tell you whether your ideas are viable or not, it is only natural to want to avoid complicating things further by introducing new complexities into the equation.
Plan Your Prototype For Your Audience
In business, it always pays to make a plan before you begin a major undertaking. Working out what you’re going to do beforehand gives you the opportunity to ensure that you are on the right path and that your proposed course of action is going to lead you to the results you desire.
You can think of your prototype as being like a plan for your final product. But that doesn’t mean that you should not make plans for the prototyping process itself. For one thing, there are multiple different routes that you can take to get from an idea to a working prototype. Identifying the best course of action for your needs will require you to spend some time researching and planning.
It is also worth doing some market research to find out exactly what your audience wants from your product. This research should help to shape your initial designs and should to some extent determine the route that you take in producing your prototypes.
Start With A Sketch
When most people think of a prototype, they think of a working rendition of a final product. However, the prototyping process usually begins with a simple sketch or diagram of the product on paper. Starting with a lo-fi paper rendition of your final product still enables you to dig into the nuances of your design and identify areas for improvement. You just need to ensure that your sketch is accompanied by detailed notes and annotations that make the key aspects of your design clear to a reader.
You should only move from a paper rendition to a final product once you are certain that your design makes sense on paper. This means that you don’t have to deal with obvious flaws in your design after having already spent time and money to manufacture a working prototype.
Don’t Strive For Perfection Right Off The Bat
The whole point of prototyping is to enable you to identify any issues with your product design and address them early on in the process. Don’t feel disheartened by any design issues that you do discover. Instead, embrace any design flaws as opportunities to refine and improve your product. Pressuring yourself into putting forward a perfect design first time is only putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and your design team.
Choose Your Manufacturer Carefully
There are numerous different ways that you can have a prototype manufactured. Choosing the right method is essential to ensure that your prototype is useful and representative of the final product and production process. As well as traditional manufacturing methods like injection molding, there newer methods like CNC machining and 3D printing. Every method has its own advantages and drawbacks and you need to take the time to identify not only the best method for your needs but the best supplier.
For example, rapiddirect.com is a reputable manufacturer that offers prototyping services using an array of different materials and techniques. This includes precision sheet metal fabrication suitable for both low and high volume orders. With their custom sheet metal fabrication service, you can order a run of robust prototypes of your product. Rapid DIrect utilizes laser cutting to produce custom sheet metal prototypes to your specifications. As well as precision sheet metal fabrication, Rapid Direct also offers custom aluminum fabrication.
Choosing the right manufacturer and technique to work with is essential if you want to produce high-quality prototypes at a rate that you can afford.
Once you have been through the prototyping process a few times, it gets a lot easier. However, when you are approaching your very first prototype, there is plenty that can go wrong. Don’t try to rush through your prototyping process, accept it for what it is – an opportunity to discover and fix any issues with your product’s design.
