What can you learn from rapid prototyping for product innovation?

I set up a successful Rapid Prototyping capability and below are some of the my learnings: 1. Differentiate Prototype vs MVP. Set expectations early on & assume it to be throwaway. 2. Go basic on arch, UX, security, scale. Even a napkin sketch can work! 3. Leverage what exists (opensource, cloud, etc.). Focus on "Rapid" iterations 4. Target weeks/days v/s months & hundreds v/s high thousands. 5. Mindset is more important than the skillset. I tried to keep a separate specialist team to enable this. Very few can switch effortlessly. 6. Know when to stop. If its going on forever, its not a Prototype any more. In today's rapid innovation climate, rapid prototype has a key role to play, but defending the right rules of engagement is the key!

Packaging is often on the critical path of new product innovations, and rapid prototyping has been a breakthrough to design packaging right first time, and increase speed to market without compromising quality. 3D printed models at early design stage has helped us quickly iterate to get to a design lock, then high fidelity prototyping has allowed us to make very accurate bottles to do technical evaluation, before committing to full manufacturing molds

Rapid Prototyping allows us to see our ideas come to life quickly and with less investment. We can evaluate size impression, functionality, variables within a package, or make changes before we finalize a package. Sometimes we find an unexpected issue with a package that wouldn't have been seen until a tool had already been made. This alone makes Rapid Prototyping worth it.

In the realm of innovation, the secret to my success lies in the art of rapid prototyping. My competitive edge is the ability to create prototypes cheap, fast, & frictionless. When speed is on my side, I can experiment at pace compared to my competitors. It's about learning rapidly & deploying impactful solutions ahead of the curve. Ripid Prototyping, complemented by the principles of design thinking, is my strategy to not only move swiftly but to move purposefully towards understanding & meeting the needs of my customers. Speed alone isn't the key; it's about adding genuine value to the end user. This is where design thinking steps in, ensuring that a deep understanding of customer desires & expectations matches the velocity of innovation

DONT BREAK YOUR BANK, BREAK YOUR BARRIERS WITH RAPID PROTOTYPING... ⚙️ The way I approach Rapid Prototyping is by boiling down the idea to its core and testing all the basic assumptions and constraints that would apply to it. By doing this one can easily test the critical components of the final vision, and identify all the failure points, without breaking your bank. Rapid prototyping is not about building a scalable product but testing out whether your idea works in the real world or not!

As a rapid prototyping expert, I can attest that rapid prototyping turbocharges product development with nimble iterations, seamless feedback integration, accelerated time-to-market, cost-efficiency, and a user-centric focus. 🚀 Master this approach by harnessing powerful tools like Photoshop to create interactive wireframes, enabling users to tangibly experience your designs and provide priceless feedback—making rapid prototyping an accessible and influential force! 🌟 Unleash the potential of ambitious visions.

It’s about the right mindset, hear me out: "A prototype is a question, manifested as a testable artifact." When you begin to think of rapid prototyping in this way, you naturally adapt a favorable approach and start asking the right questions: – What question am I aiming to answer with my (rapid) prototype? – To whom do I want to pose the question (or show the prototype)? Who is the target audience? – What constitutes the minimal viable prototype that touches upon the question? – Which medium is the fastest for creating the prototype? – (…) Learn what is necessary. Incorporate those insights into the next iteration of your product or service. Rinse and repeat.

Understanding the problem/pain that you want to solve at the core and then the solution that are you building. This gives clarity for step-by-step launches.

I believe AI can be used to rapid prototype and visualize ideas at a lower cost in terms of time and resources. Midjourney for example can help you create initial concepts for review and feedback.

Play with your strengths. Prototyping is meant to shape idea and a mechanism for experiment. So pick a medium that is appropriate for the goals and you know how to make. If you're good at 3d modelling, then visualize the 3d models, rendering, flow of people, material stress test. If you're good at woodworking, build a pop-up, or a wooden model or a wooden mechanical parts. It doesn't have to be a wireframe.

The mantra is about prototyping early and often. In the beginning it's about building a variety of low-fidelity prototypes. Start with paper sketches or digital illustration, map concepts, LEGO plays. As the project progresses, the fidelity increases as you get more clarity on what you're doing and your idea taking shape. Make shift pop-ups if you're experimenting a service, 3D rendering, wireframes. As a product innovator, one of your job is to make ideas clear and validate hypothesis. You do it with prototyping.

Alright, let's talk prototype fidelity. Low-fidelity is the punk rock of prototyping—raw, messy, and rebellious. It's your garage band rehearsal before hitting the big stage. But don't get too comfy in the chaos; high-fidelity is the polished pop star under the spotlight. It's the autotuned, airbrushed version—the showstopper. Sure, it's sleek, but let's not forget, the real innovation often thrives in the scrappy, sketchy beginnings. Don't let the allure of high-fidelity blind you to the beauty of the rough draft. Sometimes, the charm is in the imperfections, not the pixel-perfect gloss.

Start from the lowest possible effort in making the prototype. Low-resolution prototype like a drawing on piece of paper, a story board or just a mock up image generated by using AI. Collect feedback, incorporate and move on to the next stage. Invest into customer problems and make the next version better than the last, there is no fixed process or milestones in this process. The caveat is how one defines their timeline and how many customers/users one talks to and collect feedback.

Prototypes also serve as tools for gathering market insights and obtaining feedback from customers. This information aids in shaping the innovation process and refining the product or solution based on market interest. Furthermore prototyping has effects on team motivation and engagement. Seeing progress in the form of a prototype can be highly motivating for team members fostering a sense of accomplishment as they witness their ideas taking shape. Rapid prototyping and continuous innovation provide organizations with an advantage by enabling them to adapt to evolving market demands and technological advancements efficiently than their competitors.

When rapid prototyping it can be hard to align the team around a core focus. Most products are rich in features and allow users to approach them from a range of perspectives. But too much flexibility and optionality slows down your prototyping efforts and can introduce a level of confusion into your test scenarios. Good rapid prototyping is about being ruthless, disciplined and aligned across the team about the "golden path" that is being tested. Everything else is noise!

One of the main challenge I see often when others are attempting to prototype is they either: 1. Try to be perfect 2. Don't start at all Get into your flow. Build things rough and quick. It's not about the shape. It's about communicating the concept with the aid of visual and touch senses.

Embarking on the rapid prototyping journey, beware of treacherous waters. Imagine your project as a fearless explorer, navigating the swift currents. The challenge? Scope creep, a cunning beast lurking to devour your time and resources. But that's not all. The sirens of user feedback may lead you astray. Stay vigilant, for not all feedback is gold; some are mere fool's gold, tempting you into the abyss of unnecessary complexities. In this wild rapid of innovation, the key is to navigate with originality. Don't mimic the pioneers; blaze your trail. Let your prototype be a testament to your unique vision in the vast landscape of possibilities.

The biggest challenge as a builder is to make a finished article, working on to the right thing and be close to perfection. Do not give into this bias, I learnt this the hard way. Focus on what is necessary to solve the problem, keep is simple and lean. Make it easy for your potential customers/users to understand the solution and relate it to the problem.

In Corporates, it is often difficult to get "ugly" products out the door, and Rapid Prototyping should be ugly, and not thought all the way through. If it takes you months and months to try out 1 or 2 prototypes, you have defeated the purpose.

In my experience in both Corporate Innovation and startups, cross-functional teams are key for rapid prototyping. Mixing design, engineering, business, and UX expertise often sparks fresh solutions. It's equally vital to have clear metrics like iteration speed, user feedback, and engagement to gauge our progress. These markers help steer our prototyping efforts in the right direction, ensuring we continually innovate and improve.

Three golden rules that always work: 1. Prototype with your customer in mind. 2. Prototype only what you want to learn from testing (your riskiest assumptions, your biggest questions) 3. Give your prototype a spin before you put it in front of real users.

There are best practices for different types of prototypes. Wireframing is a craft. 3d rendering is a craft. Clay modeling is a craft. So get good at the craft or find someone who is good at the craft that is needed for the project.

Clear vision Clear communication Clear expectations Clear timeframes Clear launch (beta, prelaunch, launch in different markets) timeline

Rapid prototyping in product innovation offers valuable insights. It allows teams to quickly visualize and test concepts, uncovering design flaws or potential improvements early in the development process. User feedback gathered through prototypes helps in refining the product, aligning it with user needs. It also encourages a culture of experimentation and iteration, fostering creative problem-solving. Rapid prototyping reduces the risk of costly errors and accelerates time-to-market, making it a crucial tool in the product innovation journey.

The elements to take into account are the following: which materials come closest to your final product in the list of products available in 3D printing, what temperature resistance do you need, what Shore hardness do you need, what color, what minimum mechanical strength is required by your customer?

Ensure that your prototypes are accessible to users with disabilities. Test for accessibility compliance and address any issues early in the design phase. Design your prototypes with scalability in mind. Consider how the product will handle increased users, data, or features as it grows

I'm curious to know the differences and tradeoffs between rapid prototyping and multivariate testing. My understanding is that rapid prototyping is conducting experiments in succession and following some type of priority, whereas multivariate testing is implementing a couple of variations simultaneously against a control. Assuming sample size is not an issue, what kind of situations make sense to do one and not the other?

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