Takaways
“Just make it” is a mistake
In product development, teams invest a lot of time and energy into prototypes-often with the goal of having a functional “showcase product” in their hands as quickly as possible. But this is precisely where a common yet rarely acknowledged bottleneck arises: too much effort is put into prototypes that yield too little insight.
I’m an engineer. I love getting things to work. Systems, mechanics, technology-when something works in reality, it’s a great feeling, and you want to achieve that as soon as possible. But this is exactly where a major pitfall lurks, one I see time and again-and one I’ve fallen into myself: an incredible amount of time and money is wasted in prototyping.
The surprising reason? Unscientific work. By definition, a prototype is an “experimental model of a planned product.” The key word here is “experiment”-every prototype is an experiment. And what do we do in an experiment? We formulate a hypothesis and test it.
But in practice, this happens surprisingly rarely. Instead of deliberately testing hypotheses, a single prototype is suddenly expected to do everything:
- Demonstrate technical feasibility
- Uncover production issues
- Reveal weaknesses in the concept
- Validate the USPs
- Impress customers and investors
- And, of course, be ready in time for the trade show
In the worst case, there isn’t even a clear goal. The motto is: just build it and see what happens. Of course, you’ll gain some insights this way-but at what cost? Trying to develop a near-production prototype right away is a massive undertaking.
If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: you have to tackle the biggest uncertainties first. Fail fast-even in hardware.
Is a particular technical element especially risky? Then build a demonstrator specifically for that. Before spending months developing a comprehensive prototype, the risk should be tested in isolation.
The right approach starts with the right questions:
- What are the central hypotheses behind our product?
- Why has no one successfully implemented this so far?
- What is the biggest unknown?
- What do users dislike about existing solutions?
Of course, with physical products, we can’t deliver “feature by feature” as easily as in software. After all, a bicycle without handlebars won’t sell. But that doesn’t mean we can’t think modularly.
Mockups, models, and simple demonstrators are extremely valuable. Many customers aren’t interested in how something works technically. They want to know: does it work? And at what price? A well-made “Mechanical Turk” that only simulates a function can be perfectly sufficient in an early phase to get important reactions from real customers.
If you rely only on your own gut feeling or the product manager’s idea from the start, you run a high risk of developing a product that misses the market.
Yes, developing in public is uncomfortable and requires courage. But one thing is certain: nothing is more expensive than a finished product that nobody wants.
Maybe we should take a step back and ask ourselves what concrete goals a prototype can have.
Verification and Specification of Requirements
A key purpose of a prototype is the continuous specification and verification of requirements throughout the development process. Prototypes help overcome the limitations of abstract concepts by turning them into tangible forms. A picture is worth a thousand words-holding something in your hand says more than a thousand pictures. The central question is: how exactly does the client envision the solution?
It is very common for two people to hear the same thing but have completely different images in their minds. This is also true in development. That’s why professional projects have detailed requirement and specification documents. Still, requirements are often not formulated precisely enough.
In this context, a prototype can be as simple as a sketch that visualizes what has been understood and allows the other party to check it.
To also check haptics and appearance, it can be useful to create renderings or AI-generated images as well as physical mockups early on and test their acceptance. 3D-printed models are ideal for this. Prototypes should be used not only with clients or customers but also in communication with team members and other departments, especially when there are different professional backgrounds.
Functional and Performance Testing
Physical prototypes make it possible to test the real functionality of a product under various conditions. Whether for quick feasibility studies, initial performance tests, or as a pre-series model-a physical prototype helps assess the performance of a concept early on. This is especially important for products with complex mechanical, electronic, or ergonomic requirements.
First and foremost, the USPs of a product should be measured and compared as systematically and objectively as possible.
Early Error Detection and Risk Minimization
One of the main advantages of prototyping is the ability to identify and fix potential errors and weaknesses early, before significant resources are committed to full development. In line with the concept of front-loading, this saves costs in the long run and shortens time to market.
The great challenge is to detect problems early. In my view, it is usually worthwhile to test individual elements and critical interactions in isolation, as this can be done much faster than considering the complexity of the entire assembly. Ideally, several tests can even be carried out in parallel. A mockup can be used to test customer acceptance while different teams analyze individual subassemblies or elements in simplified demonstrators. However, the degree of simplification can be problematic. For example, if scaled models are used, the effects cannot always be transferred to the real object! Before any simplification, the physical relationships should therefore be analyzed and the transferability to the finished product questioned.
Customer-Oriented Development
Prototypes are excellent tools for gathering feedback from potential customers and aligning development with their actual needs. This leads to higher user satisfaction and better market acceptance.
Even if it isn’t financially necessary, launching a crowdfunding campaign can be worthwhile for end-consumer products. If users are already invested in the project, feedback on the product is especially honest.
An iterative approach is advisable here. Depending on the development stage, different types of prototypes are used:
- Renderings, mockups, and Mechanical Turks before any real technology has been implemented. Physical models attract more interest than digital ones.
- Videos and live demonstrations of functional prototypes as soon as they are available.
- As soon as prototypes offer sufficient safety, they should be tested by future users under real conditions as quickly as possible. It is quite common for users to use the product differently than intended, which must be taken into account.
Estimating Manufacturing Costs and Processes
A prototype allows a product concept to be realized early and various manufacturing processes to be practically tested. By producing the prototype or requesting critical parts, developers can determine which processes are technically feasible, economically viable, and suitable in terms of quality. Thus, a prototype can also provide concrete indications of material requirements, assembly effort, and production times.
Experience-based assessments are thus validated, and different manufacturing processes can be quantitatively compared.
Conclusion: Accelerating the Development Process
Even if it doesn’t seem intuitive at first, early and frequent models, mockups, demonstrators, and prototypes enable shorter development times, resource conservation, and cost savings. By identifying problems early, iterating quickly, and making continuous improvements, you can avoid the project ending up in a dead end.
