Prototyping is useful for developing systems when requirements are not well-known.
In the past, system development processes relied heavily on individual skill sets to define requirements, design systems, and complete tasks. Because this type of ad hoc development is often unpredictable and can lead to poor system definition, many models have been developed that you can use to improve productivity, reduce errors and help ensure accurate system delivery. One of these models, known as prototyping, is based on the assumption that a system's requirements are difficult to understand upfront. It employs a repetitive approach that incorporates stakeholder input.
Instructions
1. Define the new system's requirements in as much detail as possible, especially by interviewing the users, also known as stakeholders, who represent the various aspects of the new system. Typically, the set of defined requirements does not comprise all the final system requirements.
2. Design the prototype based on the requirements subset. During prototype design, more information may result in more requirements to include.
3. Develop the prototype. The gathered requirements are rolled into a simplified version of the final system. A prototype may be a working model, a paper product, a modification to an existing system, or a presentational prototype created to identify additional requirements.
4. Present the prototype to the stakeholders and customers, assessing it and gathering comments and suggestions. Typically, a prototype presentation results in more requirements, although it may also led to deleting requirements or abandoning the working prototype.
5. Refine the prototype based on the feedback gathered from the prototype presentation, adding functions to meet the new requirements. This step may be repeated many times in conjunction with stakeholder assessments until you have the final prototype.
6. Develop and deliver the system. Although the prototyping process often results in a complete list of system requirements to use in development, it may result in a working model that is a cornerstone of the final system.
Tags: system requirements, final system, more requirements, prototype based, prototype presentation
