Prototype

An early, often throwaway version of a product or feature built to test an idea, a clickable mockup, a rough demo, before investing in the real thing.

Why it matters

Prototypes let you get feedback and find flaws for almost nothing, before code is written. The faster and cheaper you can prototype, the more ideas you can test and the fewer expensive mistakes you make.

For example

A designer builds a clickable Figma prototype of the new flow and tests it with five users in an afternoon, before any code is written.

Go deeper

Figma Prototype Tutorial for Beginners youtube.com · article This is Figma's own beginner walkthrough of turning static screens into a clickable flow, which is exactly how you fake a working product without building anything. You link frames with triggers and actions, then hand someone a demo they can tap through as if it were real. It is enough to test whether people understand and want your flow before a single line of code. Watch on YouTube youtube.com →

Related terms

Also in Starting Up

See how founders actually handle this on Building the product, part of the Starting Up hub.

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