Prototype Outsourcing: Efficiently Achieve Desired Results

Prototyping is fundamental to any new product, service and experience (i.e. an initiative) as it allows companies and individuals to validate that what they are making is technically feasible, that the initiative brings value to a target audience and therefore, that the initiative is worth pursuing as it will result in a return on investment (ROI).

To learn more about our process for using prototyping and testing to find a product-market fit, consult the article below.

As part of this process, a company or individual may choose to outsource the creation of more or many prototypes to an individual, agency or consultancy (i.e. a third-party) as they may lack expertise, may wish to avoid group think or may wish to keep their team on track with other initiatives.

This may prove to be cost-efficient as third-parties produce outcomes faster, provide external consultation and have in-house expertise and knowledge.

To aid companies or individuals in efficiently engaging with a third-party, we have written an informative guide that describes the artifacts and documents that should be provided to the third-party to make sure that the process fruits desires outcomes, is efficient and cost-effective.

Please note that this guide does not include how to audit a third-party to make sure that they are capable of producing the work. We recommend that you consult their past work and case studies and interview them to determine who the right partner is.

To make sure that a company or individual achieves their desired outcome, it is fundamental that the third-party knows what they are making and what the purpose is.

This definition may take the form of a document that includes:

• The reason why the prototype is being created (i.e. the hypothesis).
• The audience that the prototype is for (i.e. the target audience).
• How the prototype is being tested (i.e. the interviews that will take place and the experiments that will be executed).
• The timeline for the prototype (i.e. when the prototype should be delivered by and when iterations will take place).
• The metrics that will be used to identify value (i.e. the lead and lag metrics and other qualitative metrics).

Please note that we do not advise that you create a prototype until you have clarity as to what problem you are solving and if it is worth investing in.

For more information, please consult the article linked below.

In order for the third-party to effectively deliver they must be able to visualize what they are making.

The documents and artifacts that may aid in this process are:

• The technology that needs to be used or validated.
• The fidelity of the prototype that you are looking to create.
• A sketch or CAD model.
• A user-experience map.
• A styleguide.
• A service blueprint.
• A technology systems map.

If you do not have these, you may wish to work with members of your team, contractors or the third-party to create them to make sure that things are done adequately.

These documents will become in-valuable and will translate directly to the minimum-viable product that you aim to take to market.

Finally, we all wish to get the most out of our time and budget. However, sometimes what we are asking for is not feasible.

A timeline and budget will help you and the third-party negotiate what's possible and what can be achieved.

We would love to get to know you and see how we can help your organization with its goals and needs.

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