Now, with assumptions in hand,

it may seem as though we're ready to move into testing in what works.

But wait, there's one more critical step in what wows: prototyping.

Now, when many of us hear the word "prototype," we think of fully featured,

almost ready for primetime versions.

But design thinking prototypes start off much more crude,

with details and specificity mattering only if

they create a preview of the experience and stakeholders minds.

These kinds of prototypes are,

as Michael Schrage described them,

playgrounds and not dress rehearsals.

The prototyping goal and design thinking is not perfection.

It's to bring concepts to life for

potential users to allow us to get the most accurate feedback possible.

Where architects create blueprints and models,

designers generally use visual or narrative approaches.

They use images and stories.

The reason that we surface assumptions before we prototype is because early on,

we want to test the most critical assumptions first.

These prototypes don't need to capture a concept in its entirety.

They only need to represent individual elements so that each can be tested separately.

While it's easy to imagine prototyping a new toothbrush,

prototyping in the social sector usually means we're talking about designing experiences,

which require not physical objects but storyboards,

uses scenarios, experienced journeys,

maybe even animation or concept illustrations.

Prototyping elicits more accurate feedback by creating a more vivid,

realistic experience of any new future.

Psychologists tell us that helping people pre-experience something novel is actually

an effective proxy for the real thing and significantly

improves the accuracy of humans forecasting their own behavior.

Actually, evidence from emerging neuropsychological research

suggest that imagining a specific future

really activates the same neurological pathways in

our brain as experiencing the actual event does.

So, whether in the form of storyboards or

journey maps or business concepts illustrations,

low fidelity and often

just two dimensional prototypes offer specific tools to make new ideas

tangible for people and to allow us to solicit

more accurate feedback during what wows and what works.

In the most successful innovation projects,

designers prototype early and often leaving lots

of emptiness room for others to contribute in their early iterations.

A prototype that leaves room for input,

invites stakeholders in to complete it and it helps us get them invested in the idea.

On the other hand, prototypes that appear perfect

may encourage users to tell us what they think we want to hear.

And that's the last thing we want to encourage.

That false positive as we sort out the nonstarters from the good ideas, well,

remember the venture capitalists and how important it was to

figure out which eight of 10 to stop investing in.

It's the false positive that raise the costs and risks of innovation.

Now, prototyping can sound intimidating but it shouldn't be.

Just figure out the story you want to tell and then,

visualize the concept in pictures using as few words as possible.

And always visualize multiple options.

Create choices for your stakeholder.

This can be as simple as asking users to check the option they like best.

Once we have good information from these informal one on one discussions,

then it's time to go into the real world and see what works in practice.

So let's travel now to Mexico again to look at some of

the most powerful uses of prototyping we've seen in place at Mass Agro.

Intro to What Wows: Prototyping

Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector

Meet the Instructors