This presentation was prepared for a free international startup conference at Ravensbourne College, London. This is not an extensive "How To" guide for rapid prototyping, it is more a quick guide to outline why we do it, and to give a quick overview of the process. Mainly: Rapid Prototyping is a great way to battle the human condition: our natural tendencies to spend too much time perfecting an idea or product before launching it; to refine ideas FOREVER, and not test them early enough.

1. Rapid Prototyping
is a good idea for startups
@BBC_News_Labs
at the International Startup Conference
Ravensbourne, London
March 2014
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2. ABOUT US
“Driving Innovation in News”
NEW TECH & DATA
OPPORTUNITIES
NEW JOURNALISM
FORMATS
RAPID
PROTOTYPING

3. what is it?
• A method to TEST YOUR IDEA
• QUICKLY
• in REAL LIFE
• and LEARN from it
RAPID
PROTOTYPING

4. process
1. select your MINIMUM FEATURESET to “test your unique idea” *
2. CREATE your simple working prototype
3. TEST it with real people in real life**
4. LEARN, make some changes, and do it again to test changes
* Select 1-3 goals, and prioritise features against these. Then choose BARE MINIMUM – see “MVP” literature.
** Use real data if possible, and test on people who know nothing about your idea.
RAPID
PROTOTYPING

5. why is it good?
• Prevents costly mistakes
• Gives you surprising insights
• Helps refine your ideas early & efficiently
RAPID
PROTOTYPING

6. background
• IT IS NOT NEW
(“prototype” comes from greek word πρωτότυπον for “early form”)
• IT’S QUITE COMMON
(Most agile development work and Lean Startup principles are rooted in prototyping)
• BUT …. easy to NOT DO
(if we are not careful, we will tend to revert to human nature)
RAPID
PROTOTYPING

7. WE SHOULD
MAKE SURE
WE DO IT
BECAUSE

8. WE ARE HUMAN

9. with human TENDENCIES.
In the absence of Rapid Prototyping, we will:
• ask people “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”,…and
• fester in ANALYSIS PARALYSIS & discussion, and
• TWEAK & REFINE FOREVER…

10. SO,
IN ORDER
TO ACHIEVE
PROGRESS
AND
SUCCESS

12. AND
OVERCOME
THE MOST POWERFUL
HUMAN CONDITION

14. SOMETIMES

15. so do not waste time worrying!

16. motto
1. THINK BIG
2. START SMALL
3. ACT QUICKLY

17. process, again.
1. select your MINIMUM FEATURESET to “test your unique idea” *
2. CREATE your simple working prototype
3. TEST it with real people in real life**
4. LEARN, make some changes, and do it again.
* Select 1-3 goals, and prioritise features against these. Then choose BARE MINIMUM – see “MVP” literature.
** Use real data if possible, and test on people who know nothing about your idea.
RAPID
PROTOTYPING

18. Thanks
@BBC_News_Labs
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