Types of prototype
Design & Technology · Key Stage 3 · The School
Proof of concept
A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT prototype tests one specific, uncertain idea as cheaply and quickly as possible. It often uses scrap materials that look nothing like the final product. It asks only one question: does this basic idea actually work at all? Looks and finish do not matter yet.
Working prototype
A WORKING PROTOTYPE works like the real product, at least in the parts being tested. It may still look rough, or use different materials from the final version. Its question is: does the mechanism, the electronics, the whole system actually perform reliably under real conditions?
Presentation prototype
A PRESENTATION PROTOTYPE looks like the final product: the right materials, colours, finish. It might not function at all, or only partly. Its question is: how will this look and feel to a real user or client, and does it show the design idea clearly?
A team designing a new folding bicycle hinge builds three different prototypes across the project, each for its own reason. Early on, a PROOF-OF-CONCEPT hinge, made from scrap metal and a bolt, ugly and unfinished, answers one question: can this folding idea physically work at all? Once that basic idea is confirmed, a WORKING PROTOTYPE, built to the right size in the real intended material, gets folded a thousand times to test whether it survives real use without failing. Finally, once the mechanism is proven reliable, a PRESENTATION PROTOTYPE, in the final colour and finish but not load-tested, is shown to buyers and investors, to judge how it looks and feels in the hand. Building a presentation prototype FIRST would have wasted money making something look good before knowing if the basic idea even worked. That is exactly why the order matters as much as building a prototype at all.