Creating a prototype ins one of the smartest moves you can make in the app development process. In this guide, you’ll learn when and how to create a prototype that sets your product up for success, and covers the essential tools, practical methods, and proven techniques to help you validate your ideas, reduce risks, and make confident, user-focused product decisions.

Prototyping Your App: UX Design for Successful App Development

Why Prototype?‍

When you begin the app development process, you’re faced with a wide range of unknowns; will users will understand your interface? Will the apps core features truly solve their problems? Is the app even viable?

Prototyping is the key to addressing these uncertainties early in the process. By allowing you to define, test, and evaluate key aspects of your product before full-scale development begins, a prototype helps you avoid costly missteps and ensures you’re investing time and resources in the right solution.

There are three primary reasons for prototyping: Feasibility, Failing Quickly,  Better Product Decisions and Test Market Fit

Feasibility‍

Developing a new product often means creating features your team hasn’t built before - and may not know how to tackle. Prototyping allows you to test the feasibility of these features early on by exploring and resolving technical unknowns before full development begins.

The key feasibility questions to be answered during the prototyping process should be:

• Are there existing technologies for this new functionality that we can leverage?
• Can we find one that we can get working in the necessary timeframe?
• How long do we estimate it would take to build a production-ready version?
• Do we need to research more and potentially develop these technologies ourselves?‍

Failing Quickly

No one likes to fail - but sometimes, it’s the most valuable outcome. It may feel discouraging to complete your prototype only to realize that moving forward with full-scale development isn’t the right decision. But uncovering that early can save you a significant amount of time, money, and effort. Similarly, failing fast gives you the opportunity to pivot and explore stronger solutions—before too many resources are invested in the wrong direction.

Even when a prototype doesn’t work as expected, it can still lead to success. By analyzing what went wrong and applying those insights, you can create a stronger, more refined version of the original concept. This iterative process of prototyping, learning, and improving helps you move closer to a solution that truly resonates with users.

Better Product Decisions‍

Talking through your product idea with potential users can be helpful - but nothing compares to watching them actually use it. A prototype gives you that opportunity to see your product in the hands of users - revealing what works, what confuses them and what gets overlooked entirely. This type of information is far more valuable than the abstract feedback you might receive when sharing only your idea with users. ,

This hands-on insight is essential for making smart product decisions. It helps you determine which features truly matter to users and which can be left out of your MVP, saving time and resources. You’ll also gain clarity on important tradeoffs—like whether a feature’s value to the user is worth the effort it takes to build.

Prototyping also plays a key role in refining user experience. By giving users a specific task—like inviting a friend—you can evaluate how easily they navigate your product and where they may get stuck. These observations can guide improvements and ensure your final product is intuitive, streamlined, and user-friendly.

Test Market Fit‍‍

Another key benefit of prototyping is that it gives you something tangible to test when researching market fit. Instead of relying on abstract descriptions, you can put a working model in users’ hands and gather more accurate feedback on whether they truly need your product, how much they'd be willing to pay for it, and how they might discover it in the first place.

Prototypes also allow you to conduct deeper research on your target market segments—making it easy to test different versions and see how changes resonate with various types of users.

When NOT To Prototype‍

The practice of prototyping is useful for many different kinds of products and scenarios, but there are some times when it’s not needed prior to actual product development.

Existing Solutions
‍If the product you’re looking to build uses stable, common technologies that are well documented and well tested, you many not need to build a prototype in order to figure out the feasibility of your product idea.

Proven Market
If your product idea has already been validated through other means and there’s a clear market demand, you may not need to build a prototype to prove its value or appeal to users.

Adding Enhancements
When adding new features to an existing product, those enhancements are often simple and low-risk—making prototyping unnecessary, especially if the functionality is straightforward to implement.

Non-visual Product
Prototyping is often used to create something visual for users to test and give feedback on. If your product involves something that mostly invlolves scripting or back-end work, it may not make sense to build a prototype.

Methodologies: Low & High Fidelity Prototyping‍

There are a variety of ways you can approach prototyping, ranging from very quick and basic to very robust and time-intensive. Here’s  a high level breakdown of prototyping methodologies.

Creating a Low Fidelity Prototype‍

A prototype doesn’t need to be digital to start gathering valuable user feedback. In the early stages of exploring a product idea, low-fidelity prototypes ( simple hand-sketched paper versions) can be a quick and effective way to iterate and walk others through key user flows.

Since these can be created rather quickly and don’t require an extensive design or development skill set, it’s a great way for beginners to prototype.

Your Low Fidelity Prototype Should:

• Present the information that will be displayed on screen
• Provide an outline of the structure and layout of the screens
• Convey the overall direction and description of the user interface

The key to a good low fidelity wireframe is simplicity. The only thing you should be demonstrating is how elements are laid out on the page and how the site navigation will work.‍

When creating your Low Fidelity Prototype make sure to:

• Use grayscale - avoid any colors except black and gray.
  
• Keep fonts to a minimum. Try to use a single font - utilize bold, italic etc to denote hierarchy.
  
• Avoid graphics and images. You can use rectangles and squares to denote where an image will be placed.  

While you can create low fidelity prototypes with just a pen and paper, there are a lot of easy-to-use online tools available to help make the process that much easier. We recommend trying:

• Balsamiq
• MockPlus‍‍

Creating a High Fidelity Prototype

High-fidelity prototypes are more advanced than low-fidelity versions, and more closely resemble the final product in look and feel, often including  polished visuals and interactive elements. While low-fidelity prototypes are great for quickly mapping out user flows, high-fidelity prototypes allow users to click through detailed mockups that simulate real interactions.

There are several tools available to help create these clickable prototypes without requiring a technical background, many of which allow you to design individual screens that can be linked together with simulated transitions - for example, clicking a button on one screen leads to the next screen in the flow.

Although no real back-end or data processing is involved, this type of prototype may include basic front-end code. In some cases, coding a simple front-end can be faster than stitching together mockups in a design tool, making iteration easier and handoff to developers more seamless.

For high fidelity prototying, we recommend using Figma

The Fully Functional Prototype‍

The most advanced type of prototype is the fully functional prototype. Unlike low- or high-fidelity mockups, this version is both designed and developed to closely mimic the final, production-ready product. It includes working front-end and back-end functionality, allowing for realistic user interactions and data flow—making it ideal for in-depth user testing and validating complex features before full-scale development begins.

Creating a fully functional prototype requires the most time, effort, and input from team members with specialized skill sets—but it also delivers some of the most valuable user testing and feedback. Because it closely mirrors the real product, users can interact with it naturally, often without realizing it's just a prototype. This realism leads to deeper insights into how the product will perform in real-world scenarios.

‍We recommend the following tools for building Fully Functional Prototypes

• Firebase
  When working on a functional prototype, you often don’t want to have to worry about making a full functional backend as well. This is where Firebase comes in as a remote database that allows your product to quickly store and fetch data without any setup of your own infrastructure.
• Raspberry Pi/ Arduino
  If your prototype involves hardware, you should likely be using a hardware dev kit that allows you to quickly iterate on your idea, such as the Raspberry Pi or Arduino. They have both become very popular and have a lot of tutorials, guides, and pre-built components at your disposal for getting up to speed quickly.
  
• Heroku
  After the prototype is built and ready to be tested, if you’d like it to be publically available but don’t want to spend time setting up the infrastructure, you can leverage a service like Heroku which can handle hosting the prototype for you.
  
• MVC frameworks (Django, Rails, etc)
  Sticking to stable and modern frameworks, such as Django, when developing a prototype can help give a solid foundation for you to build from. Starting from scratch or using a really new framework can often be a hindrance to the prototyping process, unless that new technology is specifically why you’re looking to build a prototype.

Stages In The Prototyping Process‍

While every prototyping project is unique, successful outcomes typically follow a structured approach rooted in proven practices and clear goal setting. To get the most out of your prototype, consider following these key stages:

1. Identify Your Riskiest Assumption

Start by pinpointing the specific part of your product you want to prototype - this likely aligns with the core functionality you outlined when defining your MVP. Then, take a close look at the assumptions you’re making about your users, the market, or the technology. The most uncertain or ambiguous areas are usually the best candidates for prototyping, as they carry the greatest risk and opportunity for learning.

2. Set Expectations

Before diving into development, establish a clear strategy. This includes defining the prototype’s purpose, setting specific goals, and timeboxing your efforts. Assign a deadline for when the prototype should be ready for testing - this keeps the project on track and prevents scope creep. With a defined timeline, your team can stay focused and work within practical constraints.

3. Sprint Efficiently

When it’s time to build, keep your team lean and agile. A small, collaborative group using Agile methodologies is ideal for prototyping. This flexibility allows for quick experimentation and iteration. Maintain regular check-ins - at least weekly—with the product owner to assess progress and ensure alignment with the original objectives.

4. Validate with Real Users

Once your prototype is complete, it’s time to test and gather feedback. Whether you’ve set up a formal user testing session or simply ask people in your target market to interact with the prototype, the goal is the same: collect insights that will help shape a better final product. The earlier and more frequently you test, the more useful feedback you’ll receive.

Remember: the true value of prototyping lies in learning. The insights you gain here will directly inform your next steps—and we’ll dive deeper into how to run effective user testing in the next section.

Next Steps

Once you’ve built your prototype and received  user feedback, there are a few choices you can make.

1. The results of the prototype have proven that you should not move forward with this particular product and should pursue something else.
   
2. The prototype resonated with users, but you have more questions that need answering through more prototyping and testing.
   
3. You’ve gotten enough feedback and are ready to build the actual product that the prototype was testing for.
   

Five Common Prototyping Pitfalls To Avoid‍

Pixel Perfection
When working on a prototype, the goal should not be building immaculate mockups and having your application match them exactly. Your time and effort should be put towards building the main user flow you’re looking to receive feedback on. If you’ve started to push pixels on your prototype, it might be time to stop prototyping and start getting users to take it for a test drive.

Over-Engineering
When building a prototype, developers are often tempted to over-engineer their solutions. But it’s important to remember that a prototype isn’t meant to be production-ready—it’s a temporary tool for learning and validation. It doesn’t need to be perfect, pristine, or free of technical debt. If your team is spending too much time refining the code or adding unnecessary complexity, it's a sign to refocus on the core goal: testing ideas quickly and efficiently.

Too Many Team Members
A prototype should focus on a small, targeted subset of features within your larger application. In most cases, this means you don’t need a large team of designers and developers to get it done. In fact, having too many contributors can slow progress and introduce unnecessary complexity. To keep things efficient and focused, aim for a lean, agile team that can move quickly and collaborate closely.

Going Past Your Deadlines
Because prototyping often involves navigating unknowns, it’s easy to lose track of time and spend more effort than necessary trying to perfect functionality. To avoid this, it’s important to timebox your work and commit to clear deadlines. Doing so keeps the prototyping process focused, efficient, and aligned with its true purpose - learning quickly and moving forward with confidence.

Failing to User Test
After spending time, effort, and money to build your prototype, don’t forget to validate the results. Building the prototype is only half of the process - don’t let it overshadow the true end goal of testing with real users to gain valuable feedback & insight.

Top 10 Tips For Prototyping Success

Now that you know the various forms prototyping can take, how it works, and what common pitfalls to avoid, it’s time to share our secret sauce on how to ensure prototyping success with these ten tips.d

1. Identify your riskiest assumption.
When building a product from scratch, the riskiest assumption you can make is that your target audience is actually experiencing the problem you’re seeking to solve. If they aren’t, your product has no market.

Base your prototype on concrete knowledge and focused problem-solving. Many similar products have entirely different audiences, so ask, “What am I solving, who am I solving it for, and do they actually need my solution?”

2. Don’t commit to one solution.
Part of your prototype’s job is to solicit audience feedback. If you’re committed to one solution, you’ll look for any way to justify it. It’s not easy to change this mindset: You have to train yourself to transition from solution-creating to problem- solving. Be open to feedback, and focus on solving the problem—not creating your solution.

3. Don’t get lost in the details - simplicity is key
We’ve seen many companies attempt to prototype an entire product and get lost in the details and features that don’t need to be solved for another six months. Prototype the core of the product, identify what you need to revisit, and then expand outward, knowing you’ve built a solid foundation.

4. Utilize everything at your disposal.
Know what you need to do, and seek tools that help do it faster. If you can find a shortcut to make prototype creation simpler, move production faster, or build it better, take it — even if that means removing functionality from your prototype to solve the problem. Do not, however, take shortcuts on core functionality that will cheat you of the knowledge you’re trying to gain.

5. Be willing to throw it away.
If you can’t crumple up your prototype at any point in the process and throw it away, you’re not building a true prototype. Thomas Edison learned hundreds of ways not to build a light bulb before he found a method that actually worked.

6. ‘Iterate’ can’t be reiterated enough
At Yeti, we use design sprints to rapidly prototype and challenge our riskiest assumptions with target users. Based on their feedback, we test, modify, and re-test without the overhead costs of redeveloping the product. Design sprints break down the creation process, making it easy to pursue the ultimate destination without losing sight of the small steps required to reach it.

7. Give every side a voice.
Involve the product owner, designers, developers, strategists, facilitators, customer advocates, and salespeople. Everyone associated with this product’s lifecycle should be engaged in the early stages to help the group discover any potential oversights. Limit contributors to seven or eight people, but bring in as many diverse viewpoints as possible.

8. Done is better than perfect.
With a prototype, the goal is not to have a pixel perfect, bug-free product ready to release to the world. Your target outcome should be an application that is reliable, testable, with users to properly validate the idea and provide feedback. When users test a prototype there can be guidelines set up so that they stay within the bounds of the main flows that were worked on. Edge cases are usually best to consider after the prototyping process, since the feedback you gather might lead to removing that aspect of your product anyways.

9. Go with what you know.
When prototyping, you should not be experimenting with new technologies unless they are key to the product and functionality that you need to test. When trying to validate an idea, you should stick with technologies, frameworks, and libraries that you are the most familiar with in order to complete the prototype and get feedback as soon as possible.

For example, if your team is most familiar with web development, you might think twice about having them build a prototype for a native mobile application. In this scenario, it might make the most sense to build a mobile web application which can approximate what the native mobile app’s experience would be (as long as your riskiest assumption doesn’t include validating a native mobile application feature).

10. Feedback is king.
Ultimately, what you’re aiming for with your prototype is to understand the feasibility of specific functionality, and to establish whether users find value in a product with that functionality. When making any decisions during the prototyping process, ask yourself, “What will help us test this product more effectively with users and get us better quality feedback?”.

This lesson should provide you with the key information and tools you'll need to successfully prototype your app! Once you've completed you're prototype you're ready to move on to User Testing, which we'll cover in Lesson Seven.