The way I see it there are two main classifications:
- User Interface Prototype
- Technology Prototype
I tend to use two types of User Interface Prototype:
- Wireframe
- Ghost Town
A ghost town prototype fills in the gap. The UI is implemented in actual code as a shell with no actual business logic or persistence. It is called a 'ghost town' because it is like the towns in western shows and films where the entire street is just a set of thin facades held up by beams and boxes. The UI is fully interactive and it makes it very easy for the user to grasp the functionality. Traditionally ghost towns were considered 'throw away'; nowadays with the Model View Controller pattern it is very easy to implement ghost towns where the majority of code can be reused. The only real drawback is that they can give a false impression to the user that the application is finished and ready.
There are also only two technology prototype forms that I use:
- Proof of Concept
- Tracer Bullet
The tracer bullet is used when the choice of technology is well established but the particular technology stack has never been used before. A very thin vertical slice of functionality is selected that touches all the novel integrations and the prototype is written to implement it. This prototype should always be of production quality as the code it produces will define the patterns and standards for the finished application and will normally be the first check in to the development repository.
These are the types of prototype that I use on a regular basis, are there any that I should be using that I have missed?
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