The Concept of Purposeful Prototyping: Towards a New Kind of Taxonomic Classification

DS 94: Proceedings of the Design Society: 22nd International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED19)

Year: 2019
Editor: Wartzack, Sandro; Schleich, Benjamin; Gon
Author: Petrakis, Konstantinos; Hird, Abigail; Wodehouse, Andrew
Series: ICED
Institution: University of Strathclyde
Section: Design methods and tools
DOI number: https://doi.org/10.1017/dsi.2019.170
ISSN: 2220-4342

Abstract

A prototype can be generally defined as a preliminary version of a final product and it can represent both aesthetic and functional features. Prototyping, the process of building a prototype, constitutes an indispensable part of product development processes. Many classifications of prototypes which use a different range of criteria have already been developed and are known as Prototype Taxonomies. This paper proposes an agenda towards the development of a new taxonomic classification which will be based on a prototype?s attributes and its intended purpose. This work is justified from the results of an analysis of 8 existing prototype taxonomies which indicate that there is not a taxonomy that explicitly uses the prototypes? purposes as its basic taxonomic dimension. A definition of the term ?Prototype Purpose? is proposed through discussing the differences and relations to the term ?Prototype Role?. This work results in a list of 23 explicit prototype purposes which arise from 7 roles of prototyping found in relevant literature: Learning, Communication, Demonstration, Integration, Refinement, Exploration and Requirement Elicitation.

Keywords: Design engineering, Design process, Prototypes, Purposes, Design methods

Download

Please sign in to your account

This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation and your ability to provide feedback, analyse your use of our products and services, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts, and provide content from third parties. Privacy Policy.