#14 Prototyping and piloting

What is it?
Prototyping, or piloting, can test the viability of a new product or service in a real life setting. It checks for any problems that were unforeseen in the design process so they are corrected before the final version is rolled out. Prototyping refers to a product, whereas piloting refers to a service.

How could I use it?
1.    Fast prototyping
Fast prototyping (or piloting) allows ideas to be tested out quickly, speeding up the pace of social innovation. Fast prototyping is useful for local authorities if there is a pressing problem they need to address, but they do not know what the solution will look like yet. Fast prototyping allows for a process of trial and error that results in a bespoke solution, and also sets up a framework for managing risk. The final product can include end user and practitioner requirements, if they give feedback during the prototyping stage.

2.    Slow prototyping
Slow prototyping (or piloting) is a way of incubating a new idea that allows for a more organic evolution to the final product. Slow prototyping takes an idea and refines it slowly throughout extensive user testing before a final version is delivered. Slow prototyping can accommodate a gradual scaling up process – making sure that the final version can be adaptable to accommodate the nuances of specific geographical areas or communities of need.

Prototyping also reduces the costs, both financial and political, of potential failure, which untested ideas are often susceptible to.

Where has it been used?
•    Clinic to Go was a project between Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Thinkpublic. The aim was to develop a kit that would give practitioners all of the tools they would need to set up a community clinic in an old NHS building. A meeting was held with practitioners to gather ideas for what would be required and develop a prototype. A prototype was made quickly and passed to practitioners who helped to develop it further. A final version was made available to practitioners across the NHS in early 2008. The prototype was inexpensive and by having practitioner input throughout the design process the final product was able to accurately reflect their needs.

•    Family Intervention Projects target chaotic families with high levels of anti-social behaviour .
The first, in Dundee in Scotland, was developed by NCH Action for Children in the 1990s. Replication was slow until government funding through the Home Office Anti-Social Behaviour Unit allowed small amounts of funding to pilot different approaches in designated pilot areas. Drawing on the lessons from these, and robust evaluation evidence, the model was rolled out and there are now over 50 Family Intervention Projects in England.