A Contingency Perspective on Effective Prototyping

Abstract

Current demands on prototyping emphasize increasingly complex and dynamic applications that require sophisticated social mechanism and process enablers. However, much of the emphasis placed today in systems development under prototyping focuses on the supporting technology. The imbalance between product and process perspectives under this approach is explored. A view of prototyping effectiveness is presented in terms of non-linear problem solving, adequate technical and procedural solutions, and organizational support. Implications of this view are presented on the selection of prototyping techniques and on project management concerns. Future developments in prototyping practice are explored.