Why you need a prototype for your app development
Being involved in software development for US-based startups and entrepreneurs, we’d like to share our experience in how to set up your process to successfully bring your app idea to life.
When you brainstorm ideas for a software solution for your business, it’s time to start thinking over its implementation. An idea is only the first step on your journey.
Once you start building your app, you need to decide on the look and feel concept first. A visually attractive and functional interface can attract more users and convince them to use an app. Our designers will work with you to create polished, stylish design tailored to a smooth and well-chosen user experience. Before a developer writes a line of code, it’s vital to ensure there’s agreement on your business goals and the product requirements. The prototype will help you achieve this alignment.
Prototypes provide you the ability to vet the requirements with minimum investments and effort. They reveal app usability issues, anticipate negative feedback of using your app and let you avoid costly problems in the future. You can test your prototype and make adjustments to functionality before it is translated to code, at which point changes are expensive in terms of cost, time and effort.
With the prototype in hand it will be much easier to collaborate with the development team since they’ll be able to try your app out and entirely explore its functionality. You’ll be on the same page with your development partner. Besides, you can always leave comments or questions inside the wireframes to clarify the implementation of a feature or any other details.
What’s more, the development team will then be able to give you clear-cut estimates for your project and provide a development plan.
Last but not least, being a startup, you can easily use a clickable prototype as a proof of concept to win investment for your project.
To cut a long story short, with prototype you’ll receive the following benefits:
- It’s nearly free to make changes to a prototype, so this is the time to get feedback on different ideas — before you’ve invested in real code.
- Forms a basis for the developers to do their work.
- Allows you to clearly show the Minimum Viable Product, while also showing your product vision for the long run.
P.S. Want a hint about how exactly a clickable prototype looks like? Please follow the link for an example of a prototype for a web solution or click this link to check its responsive design. Feel free to reach out for more examples and details!
