Prototype Experiments: Strategies and Trade-offs

Throughout the whole product development process, there is always a question on whether the proposed product is “up to its task”, and often it is up to the engineer or designer to answer these questions. In many cases, this calls for experiments in form of prototype testing, to explore, verify, and validate the product performance. This paper connects the overall approach of the development process, in form of point-based, set-based, and agile strategies, and connects them to what seems to be the fundamental tradeoff in prototype experiments, exemplified by real cases from an industrial-academic development project.