Prototyping and experimentation: How prototyping accelerates innovation
This module focuses on the Experimenting phase of the innovation cycle – getting practical, testing out our ideas and getting good feedback on what we are creating. Watch this 20 minute video
From imagining to making it real
In the Imagine stage of our innovation cycle, we were using divergent thinking to generate as many 'wild ideas' as we could. We then selected the best opportunities and, in the experiment phase, we move into modelling and refining those ideas,
failing fast and often to learn as much as we can in each prototyping cycle.
Multiplying and testing ideas
‘Avoiding small mistakes makes the big ones more severe’ Nassim Nicholas Taleb, essayist, scholar, former trader
In the previous module, we found that Design Thinking approaches were hugely helpful in Imagining our new innovation. Similarly, in our Experiment stage, most of the concepts and practices that we refer to here are built on the techniques
and principles of what is call 'Prototyping' in DT. So what is prototyping?
What is prototyping?
Making ideas seem real to find out more about how they could work...
A way to develop and test the feasibility of ideas , helping us to move from abstract to concrete in a safe environment.
A way of engaging a wide range of perspectives to generate and validate ideas and awaken new possibilities.
A way of enrolling new stakeholders into the issue and creating new champions.
A method that is focussed specifically on learning more, rather than proving something will succeed.
A method that allows us to fail early and often in order to succeed sooner.
One way to understand prototyping in public service settings is to think about its origins in product design. For example, if you were designing a new chair, you wouldn’t want to send an order for thousands to be made at a factory before you
had tested a few things. You might want to know if people liked your design, how it could be improved, if it is comfortable to sit on, if it bears weight, if the designs give the effect you intended, and so on.
The same is true for services, except that we can’t just make a model, or a one-off in exactly the same way because services are more complex. Nonetheless, there are many things that we can test. We can:
model the processes to see if people think they would work
test the 'user' touchpoints to observe what people need at each stage
we can even make one-off experiences of what the service would be like so people can give us feedback on how it feels in (nearly) reality.
Prototyping vs piloting
Anyone who has working within the public service will be familiar with the idea of 'piloting' – new service, initiatives and projects are often 'piloted' on a small scale before they are 'rolled out' more widely. So you may be asking yourself
– Isn't 'prototyping' just a fancy word for 'piloting'? Well, no! The table below outlines the key differences between the two approaches.
Prototyping
Piloting
Is a creative process - it can generate new ideas
Is an evaluative process - it tests a fixed hypothesis
Embraces failure as a learning process
Avoids failure as the worst possible outcome
Makes it possible to explore new ways of working by managing risk
Risk is designed out otherwise the pilot 'fails'
Is cheap and easy to run
Usually requires significant investment
Can happen quickly
Requires an extended timeframe to produce results
Is suitable for a development process
Is suitable for building evidence around a service that has already been developed
What can we prototype?
In truth, we can test and experiment with any aspect of the new idea we are working on but most prototyping efforts fall into one of four categories.
Getting practical about your challenge
Hopefully you have now got a small set of ideas – big and little - which can be used as the raw material for your prototyping efforts.
The rest of this module will guide you through the tools and methods which you can use in your Experiment stage, beginning with a deep dive into some of the techniques and processes that the best service designers use in their prototyping.
Pause for reflection
Reflect on how you are feeling about moving into this 'Experimentation' part of the innovation cycle.
Which of your 'wild ideas' are you keenest to test by prototyping?
What do you want to learn from your prototyping? More about users? About how your colleagues see the idea? About how partners might work with you? About very practical aspects on the ground?
What type of prototypes seem most relevant for each idea (relationships, pathways, environments, messaging)?
Are you feeling ready to start testing out your ideas 'in the real world' – in a small, low key safe-to-fail way of course! If not, what else do you need to help you get started?
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Building creativity and design skills for leaders. It covers the innovation cycle, diagnosis and perspective shifting skills, creative idea generation and safe-to-fail experimentation.
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