From Idea to Production: A Retrospective and Longitudinal Case Study of Prototypes and Prototyping Strategies

Abstract

This study explores the value of visualizing the prototyping activities in a new product development process from idea to production. Through a case study of a hardware startup, we present a retrospective and longitudinal study of their prototyping processes, from early idea to the introduction of several product generations to market. We call the visualization technique ProtoMapping, and we use the qualitative and quantitative data captured by the ProtoMap to understand how prototyping strategies change over the course of product development processes. Specifically, we focus on the prototyping of parallel concepts, iterations of concepts, manufacturing processes used for prototypes, prototype media, prototype tests, as well as prototyping of isolated or integrated systems. On the basis of this longitudinal analysis, we present a number of insights that were possible to uncover with ProtoMapping. We observe how parallel prototypes of isolated systems can be used to explore the solution space and later be synthesized into prototypes for integrated systems. Furthermore, we understand how the need to scale up production can lead to increased prototyping activities, as several parts of a product must be redesigned. This study illustrates the utility of a retrospective visualization approach and serves as the first step in formulation of generalized guidelines for prototyping strategies in holistic product development.

Front-end design prototyping strategies during remote stakeholder engagement

“…Engineers must effectively engage project stakeholders to design effectively, and prototypes are a key tool for communicating design form and function to stakeholders (Viswanathan et al 2014; Lauff et al 2020) and identifying unknown aspects of design problems from stakeholders (Jensen, Elverum & Steinert 2017). Quality stakeholder engagement in the front-end of design processes, in particular, which according to Atman et al (2007) includes activities like problem scoping, requirements definition and concept selection, is critical for the success or failure of design projects (Cooper 2019; Hansen & Özkil 2020). When engineers and stakeholders are not in the same physical location and engagement is conducted remotely, effective communication and engagement strategies may be especially important to overcome the absence of in-person communication (Asadi et al 2017).…”

Feasibility study on the use of recycled materials for prototyping purposes: A comparative study based on the tensile strength

“…prototypes for desirability, for feasibility and for viability) 14 with the purpose of reducing uncertainties, exploring new ideas, increasing feasibility and/or engaging with users. 15 On that basis, a prototype is achieved in terms of certain modelling aims: Model to Link, Model to Test, Model to Communicate, Model to Decide and Model to Interact. 14 The use of digital tools allows designers to create highly flexible prototypes that facilitate short learning cycles at an affordable cost.…”

What Is Successful Prototyping? Insights From Novice Designers’ Self-Evaluation of Prototyping Success

“…Recent papers have shown how collecting prototyping-related data during development projects can teach us about the prototyping process (Erichsen et al, 2020). However, when such prototyping data cannot be connected to a prototyping outcome, its potential to be used in data-driven analyses diminishes (Hansen and Özkil, 2020b). In short, we cannot really say how to prototype, when we are not able to identify successful or failed prototyping.…”