Purpose 

Prototyping is used to elicit and validate stakeholder needs to an iterative process that creates a model or design of requirements. It is also used to optimize user experience, to evaluate design options, and as a basis for development of the final business solution.

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^® (BABOK^®)

A prototype is a version of product that allow you to explore your ideas and show the intention behind the future. Prototyping is the overall design concept to users before investing time and money in the development process. It is easy to do some changes in the product early in the development process than to make changes after developing the whole business solution. Prototyping allow you to gather feedback from the users while you are still planning and designing the solution. Prototyping is an integral part of design thinking because it allows to test the ideas quickly and improve them to deliver the final business solution. We can use prototyping as a form of research before other phases in design thinking, allowing to explore the problem areas, interface with the stakeholders, and spot the areas for improvement and innovation.

Prototyping is a proven method for product design. It works, by providing an early model of the final design, known as a prototype. Prototyping is used to identify both missing or improperly specified requirements and unsubstantiated assumptions by demonstrating what the product looks like and how it acts in the early stages of design. They can be used to mock up websites, serve as a partially working construct of the product which describe the process through of the diagrams. The business rules and data prototypes can be used to discover desired process flow and business rules. Data prototyping can be used for data cleansing and transformation.

Some of the articles related to Prototyping techniques are as follows,

• Prototyping - http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~saul/pmwiki/uploads/Main/topic-neumann.pdf
• Prototyping Analysis Report - https://studymafia.org/rapid-prototyping-seminar-report-with-ppt-and-pdf/
• Prototyping Techniques - https://www.lri.fr/~mackay/pdffiles/Prototype.chapter.pdf
• Applications and Benefits of Prototyping - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226038981_Rapid_prototyping_technology_Applications_and_benefits_for_rapid_product_development
• Advantages of Prototype - http://www.idc-online.com/technical_references/pdfs/data_communications/Prototype_Model_Advantages_and_Disadvantages.pdf
• Prototyping Design - https://www.engr.uvic.ca/~mech410/lectures/Rodney%20Katz%20-%20Prototype%20Design%20and%20Manufacturing%20Manual.pdf
• Benefits of Prototyping - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aldrich/courses/413/slides/10-proto.pdf
• Prototyping Technology - https://globaljournals.org/GJCST_Volume13/5-Review-of-Rapid-Prototyping.pdf
• Prototyping Methods - http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sullivan/prototyping.pdf
• Prototyping Model - https://ecomputernotes.com/software-engineering/explain-prototyping-model
• User Centered Prototyping - https://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~saul/hci_topics/pdf_files/prototyping.pdf
• Strategies used in Prototyping - http://scientific-journals.org/journalofsystemsandsoftware/archive/vol2no6/vol2no6_4.pdf

In Prototyping, we can create the model of the proposed solution. In business analysis, a prototype generally means the representation of the computer screen, and examples of how the user interact with the application to accomplish a task to solve the business problem. Some of the elements considered in the prototyping technique are,

• Prototyping Approach - There are two common approaches in prototyping. They are,
• Throw-away - The prototypes are generated with the simple tools such as paper, pen and pencil to serve the goal of clarifying the requirements. This method is helpful for identifying the functionality ad processes that are not easily elicited by other techniques and are difficult to understand. These prototypes can be inexpensive tools to confirm the requirements that go beyond an interface including requirements related to processes, data and business rules.

• Evolutionary or Functional - The prototypes are created to extend the initial requirements into an functioning solution as requirements are further defined through stakeholder use. This approach produces a working solution and usually requires a specialized prototyping tool. These prototypes may be used in the final solution.
• Prototyping Examples - Some of the examples of prototyping are,
• Proof of Principle - It is a model created to validate the design of a system without modelling the appearance and materials used in the creation of work.
• Form Study Prototype - It is used to explore the basic size, look and feel of a product that will be manufactured, without creating the actual functionality. This type of prototype may also be used to model a work flow or navigation at a high level in order to identify the gaps in the final business solution.
• Usability Prototype - It is a product model created to test how the end user interacts with the system without including any of the properties.
• Visual Prototype - It is a product model created to test the visual aspects of the solution without modelling the complete functionality.
• Functional Prototype - It is a model created to test the software functionality, qualities of the system for the user, and work flow.
• Prototyping Methods - Some of the commonly used prototyping methods are,
• Story Boarding - It is used to visually and textually detail the sequence of activities by summing up different user interactions with the solution.
• Paper Prototyping - It uses paper and pencil to draft an interface.
• Work flow Modelling - It depicts a sequence of operations that are performed and usually focuses on the human aspect.
• Simulation - It is used to demonstrate the components of the solution. It may test various process, data, business rules, and inputs.

Advantages of using this technique are,

• It provide a visual representation of the future state.
• Allow the stakeholders to provide the input and feedback early in the design process.

Some of the books for Prototyping techniques are,

• Prototyping: A Practice Guide | Todd Zaki Warfel | https://www.amazon.com/Prototyping-Practitioners-Todd-Zaki-Warfel-ebook/dp/B004VFUOMY/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=prototyping+books&qid=1592546871&sr=8-7
• Prototyping and Applications | Frank Liou | https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Prototyping-Engineering-Applications-Development/dp/1498798926/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=prototyping+books&qid=1592546990&sr=8-8
• Prototyping and Model Making | Bjarki Hallgrimsson | https://www.amazon.com/Prototyping-Modelmaking-Product-Design-Portfolio/dp/1856698769/ref=sr_1_34?dchild=1&keywords=prototyping+books&qid=1592547062&sr=8-34