Clarity Strategic^TM

A prototype is a version of a product that has some, if not all, of the characteristics of the finished product, but it's not itself on the market. It doesn't usually even look like it might be. It's being tested. And this is language we're used to using with products.

But services can be - SHOULD be - prototyped as well, prior to their release for sale to the public. Here's what product prototypes do, and service prototypes should do as well:

• make the service real for customers and investors; makes them feel that real progress is being made
• enables detection of errors, and iteration and change, so you get better solutions, even early in the design process
• though users can't say what they want, they recognize it when they see it

Compared to these, any risks associated with prototyping a service usually come out looking pretty small. The biggest risk is that we might embed a mistake in the finished version of the service, but reward generally outweighs even this risk. And if we test the prototype enough, we can squeeze the risk down.

So why is the prototype so important? Because you've got a good idea you're thinking of introducing, and the history of innovation makes it clear that others are having the same idea. This was a central theme in Tracy Kidder's "The Soul of a New Machine":

You did not have to be the first company to produce the new kind of machine; sometimes, in fact, it was better not to be the first. But you had to produce yours before the new market really opened up and customers had made other marriages. For once they are lost, both old and prospective customers are often gone for good.

You can miss the market by not moving your idea forward; you can also miss the market by making too many mistakes on the way. Prototyping is how we make that second risk somewhat less.

Here's a few things to locate and adjust in the prototyping process:
- single point of failure (including single points of evaluation)
- an excessive need to get everything "right the first time" (too many inputs, too many cooks, too much overhead, etc.)
- evils - negative effects - in pairs of opposites (you work too hard to avoid one trap and you fall into the other)

Read more:

Florman, S. The Civilized Engineer. St. Martin's Press, 1989. ISBN 0-31202-559-9, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0312025599/theengineerscompA/
Kidder, T. The Soul of a New Machine. Back Bay Books, 2000. ISBN 0-31649-197-7, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0316491977/theengineerscompA/
Whitten, J. L. and L. D. Bentley. Systems Analysis and Design Methods. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 0-256-19906-X, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=025619906X/theengineerscompA/
Rae, J. "Seek the Magic with Service Prototypes," Business Week, 09.12.2007, http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2007/id20070912_418827.htm