It’s important to note that prototyping differs from production in a few key ways, namely in outlay and cost. A production-level product may feature lavish materials and high-end finishes, but prototypes forgo this form for function.

Remember, this is the testing phase; no one cares what it looks like. In fact, many of the world’s leading electronic products looked surprisingly bare-bones and dare we say ugly during the prototyping phase: a mess of wires and cheap plastic. And at this phase, that’s all that matters. You need to know it works, long before ensuring it’s presentable and marketable to consumers.

Prototypes of electronic projects, for example, often make use of breadboards, PCB boards, microcontrollers, and various other prototyping equipment for quick, easy iteration without costly outlay on expensive hardware that just isn’t required, before advancing to a final design with production quality materials and mass-market production. Getting the prototype right can and often does determine the viability of a new product. It doesn’t, unfortunately, guarantee success. Do it right and the product might succeed. Do it wrong, however, and the project will struggle just to break even.