- launch products that the consumers didn’t know they need
- yippie! high potential returns
- prototypes advantages:
- risk reduction: fail in prototype before actual product
- get user feedback, meet needs of customers
- visual representation: convey accurately to customers what the product will be like
- time + cost saving: fail in a cheap prototype, not while developing expensive product
disadvantage
- costly, especially for small businesses with tight R&D budgets
- time consuming - time is money; no guarantee that the prototype will be successful
- stakeholders misinterpret prototype
- prototypes sometimes focus too much on aesthetics and not functionality.