Most rapid prototypes fail at the handoff. They prove desirability but do not inform engineering reality.
A stronger approach is to design each prototype as a decision instrument:
- Which assumption are we testing?
- Which metric would prove value?
- Which technical constraint is most likely to block delivery?
Prototype architecture principles
- Build only what is needed to learn, but document what must persist.
- Keep artifacts close to production conventions when feasible.
- Treat prototype outcomes as backlog inputs, not presentation outputs.
Speed is useful only when it compounds into implementation confidence.