Prototypenphase
Prototypenphase refers to the phase in product development dedicated to creating and evaluating prototypes of a product or system to test concepts, form, function, and usability before committing to full-scale production. It is part of many development methodologies, including stage-gate and the V-model, and can occur in hardware, software, or hybrid projects. It is often preceded by concept development and followed by verification, validation, and production planning.
The main objectives are to validate requirements, explore feasible designs, assess manufacturability and cost, identify risks,
Common activities include defining prototypes' fidelity levels, creating physical or software models (low-fidelity sketches, mid-fidelity mockups,
Outputs include prototype artifacts, test reports, revised requirements, design decisions, updated bill of materials, and readiness
Variants include hardware prototypes, software prototypes, and hybrid builds; terms like proof-of-concept, feasibility prototype, and functional