How and When to Use a Prototype

Prototyping is a technique used in design, in many different disciplines.  The term is seldom used in the context of landscape design.  In other design disciplines, prototyping can be used to:

• Show a proof of concept
• Gather requirements
• Validate requirements
• Explore solutions or resolve specific design issues

Within any design discipline there may be several methods or approaches to prototyping.  The objective is usually the same; create a representation of the design objective to show how it will work and/or look.  The prototype may be a car, a retail product, an information system, an airplane, or a web site.  As I mentioned in my last post, prototypes, as a representation, have a fidelity or degree of realism.  Low fidelity prototypes are less realistic.  High fidelity prototypes often appear to be completed projects.

Fidelity is most commonly evaluated on two levels.  Visual fidelity or how realistic does it look, and functional fidelity or how realistic does it perform.  These two criteria are not mutually exclusive.  A prototype can have both high visual and high function fidelity.

How and why these two criteria matter is important.  As a rule, higher fidelity means more time to develop the prototype, which essentially means more cost.  Depending upon your objective you may be better off creating a lower fidelity prototype, quicker, at less cost.  In other cases, a high fidelity prototype may be needed.  A good designer will use the right fidelity prototype to accomplish the specific objective.

Prototypes can be applied at just about any point in the design process.  You can use them before the project is even a project as a proof of concept (i.e., there is room to build both a pool and a deck).  You can use them during the requirements gathering stage.  They can be valuable during design development.  A prototype makes a great sales aid during a client presentation.  Lastly, a prototype can even be valuable during the build or construction phase.

The question is, how does it apply to landscape design?  My next post will answer that question.