Software prototyping is a process widely used by companies that want to deliver a viable product that truly meets the market needs. The main idea of software prototyping development is to build an incomplete version of the software in order to assess its specific functionalities. Being incomplete might mean multiple things in this case, from having only a draft version of the design to including in the prototype only the minimum number of features.
But how can software prototyping help your business and who do you need to build a high-quality prototype of your product? Follow our guide below to learn about all the ins and outs of successful software prototyping development.
Why do you need software prototyping?
Yes, software prototyping is an additional stage in product development that might make the initial development process longer. However, it is an option worth choosing. Early studies on prototyping, reported in articles like the Boehm’s 1989 Some Experience with Automated Aids to the Design of Large-Scale Reliable Software, have already proved that most errors in software development are a result of wrongly assessed requirements, not coding itself. And although the technology has progressed a lot since 1989, the problem is still present in the industry, as confirmed, among many, by Donald Firesmith from the Software Engineering Institute. Software prototyping can, therefore, actually save your time in the later stages of development.
What are the other important benefits of software prototyping?
- Reduction of development costs by assessing ideas early and focusing only on features that prove to be important.
- Higher user satisfaction — the ability to incorporate feedback from users in the early stages of software development by running tests with potential customers.
- Opportunity to fix issues in the early stages of development and be able to focus on introducing new features faster in the post-launch period.
- Opportunity to better understand the product and plan out budget and deadlines correctly.
- Opportunity to brainstorm and assess which features should be implemented in the launch MVP (minimum viable product) and which can be added in the later stages.
Software prototyping is especially useful for young startups looking for financing. An interactive prototype can work as a proof of concept when presenting the project to potential angel investors.
A similar approach can be utilized when planning a new product within a bigger company’s environment. A prototype can be presented to the board of directors, Head of Marketing, or other decision-makers to showcase better how the new product can be useful for the business.
Software prototyping designers
A team delivering software prototyping services most often consists of designers and developers. Let’s start by describing the role of the first ones. How do they help you achieve great results?
Their job revolves mostly around building the perfect user journey for your customers. In the process of software prototyping, designers do not really focus on the final look & feel of your product but strive to perfect the UX (user experience) and UI (user interface). The aim is to make the product as user-friendly as possible and lead your customers exactly where you want them to go. According to a study by Forrester Reacher, a well-designed UI may improve the conversion rate of a website by up to 200%, and improvement in UX can cause the conversion rate to go up by even 400%.
Work on UX prototyping includes things like:
- Preparing the perfect map of the software and building connections between its different elements (e.g. between different pages of a website or tabs of a mobile app).
- Choosing the placement of buttons and other interactive elements.
- Prioritizing content (what should be shown to the user first).
- Running user research and tests (e.g. automatic A/B tests, manual tests, reviewing heatmaps).
Most important skills of the software prototyping designers
To deliver software prototyping services of the highest quality, each designer working in the prototyping team should be knowledgeable in…
- Site/app maps
Allowing to build and review connections between different elements of the product. Popular tools focusing on building such maps are FlowMap, VisualSitemaps, and Gloomaps.
- Wireframes
Rough prototypes, most often consisting only of black and white shapes imitating actual content. They are done to assess where each piece of content and interactive elements (like buttons) should be placed. Some of the most popular tools used for building wireframes are Balsamiq, MockFlow, Axure, and Wireframe.cc.
- Mockups
Non-interactive prototypes featuring the planned look & feel of the product. Specialized software for mockups includes Moqups, and previously mentioned Balsamic and MockFlow.
- High-fidelity prototypes
Interactive prototypes, usually resembling the final product both in look & feel as well as UX. They are often done in collaboration with developers in order to introduce all the necessary functionalities that are planned to be reviewed using the prototype. Some tools used to create such prototypes are Proto.io, Fluid UI, Invision, and Marvel App.
- User testing
Including data analytics and acquiring data by oneself using methods like A/B testing or reviewing heatmaps (e.g. with HotJar software).
- Additional design software
Besides specialized tools for building specific types of prototypes, designers can also utilize other useful tools in the software prototyping process. It’s especially important to mention the Adobe suite (including UX-focused Adobe XD) and Figma — a tool supporting collaboration between designers.
Software prototyping developers
While designers perfect the UX, developers introduce the most important features of the software that are supposed to be tested using the prototype. They also often have to make sure that design is implemented correctly and may request specific edits to be done by designers. As coding experts, they need to possess the knowledge of…
- Relevant programming languages and frameworks
The choice of programming language to be used depends on what type of product you are building. For example, web project prototyping requires mainly front-end developers experienced in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. On the other hand, mobile projects might use either Native technologies (e.g. Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android) or cross-platform ones (React Native, Flutter).
You might also want to create multiple prototypes using different technologies in order to assess which one provides the best performance. In this case, you will most likely need multiple developers specialized in different programming languages.
- Software testing
Unlike user tests done by designers, prototype testing done by developers focuses on finding potential issues with the software as well as areas where performance can be improved.
- Creating documentation
Preparing documentation can be very useful after the prototyping process finishes and final product development start — it will allow easy access to the methods devs used in order to achieve specific results.
- Git
Version-control system allowing to track changes in the software’s source code. Just like documentation, it’s especially useful in the later stages of product development.
How to hire software prototyping experts that fit your project?
But skills are not enough for the perfect fit. To make sure your software prototyping team delivers results fast and truly of the highest quality, you should also assess how well they fit your company and the specific project you are hiring them for. What exactly should you consider?
- Technology fit
Look for people experienced specifically in the technology you are planning to use for your product. For example, if you know that you want to build your software with Java, look for experienced Java devs and not those working mainly with C++. Hire people who are truly dedicated to the technology you want to use.
- Industry fit
Additionally, you should also assess whether your candidates have previous experience in working with a company from your industry. Such experience means they already have some understanding of your audience and might have been working in the past on features that you want to have in your product.
- Company culture fit
This one specifically impacts how well your software prototyping team will cooperate to deliver the best results. First, consider the values of your business, such as whether your office environment is more like a startup or an enterprise, or the preferred management style at your company. Second, look for software prototyping experts who also share and appreciate these values so they will create a perfectly synchronized team.
What’s after software prototyping?
But what comes after the software prototyping process is finished? The development of the final product. And this requires more than just developers and designers — you’ll surely also need people like Product Owner, IT Project Manager, Scrum Master, or Agile Coach. How to have all these people hired fast?
Ideamotive can help. We maintain a leading network of top IT talents looking for new career opportunities. Whether you need software prototyping experts or a team of professionals to develop the final version of the product, we can supply you with people perfectly matched to your business, according to your specific needs.
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