🎯 What You'll Master:
- ✅ Understand what prototypes are and why they save millions
- ✅ Learn 3 levels of prototyping (low, medium, high fidelity)
- ✅ Create prototypes WITHOUT coding or design skills
- ✅ Know when to use which type of prototype
- ✅ See Indian companies' prototype success stories
📖 The WhatsApp Business Story
📱 How WhatsApp Tested Before Building
The Challenge: WhatsApp wanted to create a business version for Indian small businesses.
They had many ideas but didn't know which features businesses actually needed.
What they DIDN'T do:
- ❌ Build the complete app first (would cost crores and take months!)
- ❌ Launch and hope businesses like it
- ❌ Guess what features to include
What they DID (Prototyping Approach):
- Paper Prototype (Week 1): Drew screens on paper, showed to 50 shopkeepers in Delhi markets.
"Here's how it might work - what do you think?"
- Clickable Mockup (Week 2-3): Created simple clickable images (no real code!).
Let businesses try the flow. Discovered: They wanted quick replies for common questions!
- Limited Beta (Month 2): Built working version with ONLY the most-wanted features.
Gave to 1,000 businesses to try.
- Learned & Improved: Based on feedback, added catalog feature, labels, automated messages.
💡 Result: WhatsApp Business became essential for millions of Indian businesses.
By prototyping first, they built exactly what businesses needed, not what they thought they needed!
💰 Cost Saved: If they built the full app first and it flopped, they would have wasted
crores and months. Prototyping cost them just lakhs and weeks, while ensuring success!
🤔 What is a Prototype?
A prototype is a simple, quick version of your idea that you can test
BEFORE spending big money on the final product. Think of it as a "draft" or "sample" that lets you
learn fast and cheap!
🏢 Office Analogy:
Imagine your boss asks you to redecorate the office:
❌ Without Prototype: You spend ₹10 lakhs on new furniture, paint, lighting.
After installation, everyone hates it. Too late - money gone!
✅ With Prototype: You create a mockup using cardboard furniture, show color samples,
and do a small test area first. Get feedback. Adjust. THEN buy the real stuff.
Result: Everyone loves it, you're a hero!
📊 Three Levels of Prototyping
📝 Low Fidelity
Quick & Rough
- Paper sketches
- Whiteboard drawings
- Sticky notes
- Storyboards
When: Very early stage
Cost: Almost free!
Time: Hours or days
🖼️ Medium Fidelity
Looks Real-ish
- Digital mockups
- Clickable prototypes
- PowerPoint demos
- Simple videos
When: After initial feedback
Cost: Low (₹0-₹10,000)
Time: Days to weeks
💎 High Fidelity
Almost Real
- Working beta version
- Interactive demo
- Detailed prototype
- MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
When: Ready to test seriously
Cost: Medium (₹50K-₹5L)
Time: Weeks to months
🎯 Pro Rule: Always start with LOW fidelity! Only move to higher fidelity
after you've validated the concept. Don't waste time making something beautiful if the idea itself is wrong!
🛠️ Types of Prototypes (No Coding Needed!)
📄 1. Paper Prototype
What: Draw your idea on paper or sticky notes.
Best for: Apps, websites, forms, processes
🇮🇳 Example: Zomato's early prototypes were hand-drawn restaurant pages
showing menus and reviews. They tested with friends before coding!
🎭 2. Role-Play Prototype
What: Act out your service or experience.
Best for: Customer service, user journeys
🏨 Example: OYO tested their check-in process by having team members
role-play as guests and staff before creating training materials.
🎬 3. Video Prototype
What: Create a video showing how your solution works.
Best for: Explaining complex ideas, pitching
📱 Example: Snapdeal created a simple video showing their delivery process
to pitch to investors - before building the system!
🏗️ 4. Physical Mock-up
What: Build with cardboard, clay, LEGO, whatever works!
Best for: Physical products, packaging, spaces
🚗 Example: Ather Energy used foam models to test their electric scooter's
design and ergonomics before manufacturing.
📊 5. Wizard of Oz
What: Users think it's automatic, but you're doing it manually behind the scenes!
Best for: Testing concepts before building tech
🍔 Example: Food delivery apps initially took orders online but called
restaurants manually - testing if people would use the service before building automation!
🖱️ 6. Clickable Mockup
What: Images linked together to simulate an app/website.
Best for: Digital products, user flows
💼 Example: Freshworks tested their CRM interface with clickable prototypes
(using tools like Figma) before writing any code!
🧰 Easy Tools for Prototyping
✅ Do's and ❌ Don'ts of Prototyping
❌ Don't Do This:
- Make it perfect - it's a prototype!
- Spend weeks building before testing
- Fall in love with your prototype
- Try to include every feature
- Hide it until it's "ready"
✅ Do This Instead:
- Make it rough and quick!
- Test early and often
- Be ready to throw it away
- Focus on core functionality
- Show it to users immediately
🎯 Interactive: Prototyping Checklist
🇮🇳 Indian Success Stories
🏦 PhonePe's Prototype Journey
- Paper Prototype: Drew payment flow on whiteboard, tested with team
- Fake Backend: Created app interface, manually processed transactions to test user experience
- Limited Beta: Launched to 100 employees first, fixed issues
- Iterative Launch: Slowly expanded, adding features based on feedback
Result: Smooth nationwide launch with minimal issues!
📚 Unacademy's Testing Approach
Before building their full platform, they:
- ✅ Started with YouTube videos (testing if anyone wants online education)
- ✅ Created simple website with video links (testing platform concept)
- ✅ Added basic chat feature (testing interactivity)
- ✅ Only then built complete app with all features
Each step was a prototype validating the next!