Thursday, April 12, 2007
The First Prototype Wins
There is no more effective tool for business communication than a prototype. I'm not the first person to mention the power of prototypes (Seth Godin and IDEO are big proponents), and hopefully I won't be the last. Whether we're talking about a product, service, or idea, there's no substitute for a prototype when it comes to selling your concept.What's A Prototype?
To be clear, when I say a prototype, I don't necessarily mean a functional "looks like" or "works like" prototype. It could be a lot of things: for a product, maybe it's an animation, a drawing, or a "Frankenstein" model cobbled together out of foamcore and duct tape. If it's a service, maybe you make a short video where you and some other people act out the idea. Production values aren't usually important, the key is that the essence of your idea is immediately clear in some kind of tangible form.
Why Are They So Powerful?
I'm a designer. Designers are great at connecting the dots: imagining things that don't yet exist, thinking in terms of abstract "black boxes" and visualizing things in their head. What designers tend to forget is that most people (marketers, executives, scientists, etc) aren't so good at connecting the dots. That doesn't mean they're dumb, or that they aren't creative, it just means they think differently than designers.
Prototypes are so powerful because they give ideas form. They connect the dots for the audience, which ensures that they don't misinterpret your idea. This seems obvious, but if it was that obvious, we'd all be using prototypes a lot more often.
First Mover Advantage
Notice that I didn't say "the BEST prototype wins," but "the FIRST prototype wins." Prototypes are also powerful because they make an idea seem a lot more real. This matters a lot, because once an idea seems real, it's a lot harder to derail it.
What this means is, don't spend too much time worrying about the details of your prototype. Don't noodle details unless they matter- unless they tell your story. Focus on the big idea, on communicating your vision, not on finessing the prototype. If you're telling the story, you'll be successful.
Start Speaking In Prototypes
From now on, promise yourself to start speaking in prototypes. Before you unveil your ideas, make them real. Make some kind of prototype, and I think you'll be happy with the results.
Labels: design management, innovation, product development
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