As far as rapid prototyping is concerned, it is vital to avoid potential mistakes in the process. That can help you get the most out of the efforts. These are some of the common rapid prototyping mistakes.

Creating Prototypes Too Early

It is a bit challenging to use prototyping tools to work on details. However, you ought to resist the urge and define the problem. You need to consider the design first. That explains why prototyping is known as the fourth stage. The truth is that being slow at that particular stage can save you a lot of time during the process.

Grabbing an Idea, You First Come Up With

You have probably experienced this situation at different times. Ensure you do not fall for an idea that you come up with. Remember that a rapid prototype is an artifact you will dispose of, and every iteration has its unique purpose. Also, it involves getting customer feedback. That does not mean you should not appreciate your ideas. Instead, you should evaluate them before finalizing it. Therefore, you should gather different ideas and select one after careful evaluation.

Being Carried Away

The modern prototyping equipment and software applications are so advanced that they can get you carried away. You should avoid spending a lot of time on your initial design. Spending a lot of time on the initial idea is likely to cause a lot of frustration and make you even slow down. You can avoid over-prototyping by concentrating on your work and have the task done in the shortest period possible.

Failure to Evaluate Fidelity

This is another issue as far as making prototypes is concerned without having to re-evaluate the fidelity. For example, you will need to sketch on paper and collect customer feedback rather than making an interactive prototype. Ensure you consider your desired goals before settling on the best fidelity for the final prototype.

Being Discouraged by Failure

You should understand that the purpose of the prototype is to test theories and assumptions. Therefore, not all assumptions are bound to achieve validation. You should not take the situation as a failure. In this case, you ought to reconsider the definition of success and failure. Ideally, each failure will teach you some lessons.

If you are involved in rapid prototyping, it is advisable to consider the above common mistakes. They can help you get great results as you learn from the mistakes.