As I was wrapping up my second ever attempt at creating a prototype using Justinmind, I got an email from a team at work. Inside was a lovely little prototype of a mobile application the team is currently working on. They shared with my team to give us some perspective on the project and what the final look will be.

 

Have to say – the timing of that email could not have been better. Through my prototyping project I had this nagging thought in the back of my head: “I know this is a useful skill to understand, but how can I use these in my current role?” Well now I have a perfectly tangible example.

These can be used not only to sell a potential or current customer on a project, but can be incredibly helpful when trying to illustrate what’s coming up – even if the audience isn’t involved in development, testing or execution.

While you of course could not complete all testing for a new product design or launch with the prototype, it is an excellent way to illustrate the design and basic functionality of the site or app without the investment of time and effort of your designers. And the creator doesn’t even have to know how to code! I really wish I had known about this when I worked for a smaller company. Such a better way to explain how you want something to work to the IT team then simply trying to talk it out or put it in an email.

Prototyping is a powerful tool. It delivers an important message on design and function, and can be a great way to communicate within teams, stakeholders and customers.