4 Reasons to Prototype Rapidly
Here are 4 reasons for prototyping applications first. By prototyping, I mean an emphasis on building working applications rapidly:
1. It is much easier to edit an existing application that to try to dream one up with nothing visual and interactive to work with.
2. Too much planning leads to over-complication. Sometimes you can be too smart for you own good. “What if the user wants to do X or Y.” Don’t guess, find out.
3. A working application that can be tweaked beats a theoretical application that is perfect (and either sucks when it’s “done” or never sees the light of day)
4. A Prototype forces you to focus on the core functionality, that makes or breaks your idea. Trust us, the logo is not your killer feature.
Credit is due to our good friend Mike Landman of Ripple for Reasons #1 and #3.
Similar to: http://www.paulgraham.com/13sentences.html
I’ve found this to be true for other things, too.
It’s easier to edit a video if material has been recorded and can be seen live.
It’s easier to refine a business if it’s already operating.
And #3 sounds like the scientific method to me! Make a hypothesis, try it out, and adjust accordingly.