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	Prototypes Links for further reading: Process Overview Step 2 - Requirements. Step 3 - Information. Step 4 - Design. Step 5 - Prototypes. Step 6 - Production. Process Notes				Step 5 - The Purpose of Prototypes: Before diving into the prototyping phase, there are few questions to ask: Is a prototype desirable or necessary? Is there a need for design verification? Is testing needed for design improvement? Has the design been done to the best knowledge before prototyping? Depending on the product, a prototype may or may not be necessary -- or perhaps more importantly, it may be that only parts of the design need prototyping.  This is not to say that prototypes should not be built, just to emphasize that prototyping is costly in both time and money so the need should be evaluated. In many industries the products are quite complex and require several iterations of design and prototyping.  The auto industry, for instance, uses several variations of prototypes to evaluate the design and to find areas of improvement.  In the case of automobiles, the complexity of the design and the amount learned from each version justify the time and cost. A parallel process to be done with prototyping is Production Quotation.  This is where manufacturer input is requested -- both for cost to produce as well as for ways the product can be made cheaper, easier, lighter, faster or better.  This is especially valuable if the design is to be iterated. In practice, most products require at least one prototyping phase.  Typically, the flow is from the design phase to prototype and testing then back to design for (hopefully) minor changes before going to production. Prototyping  (our Speaker Example): The first speaker prototype turned out really good so a matching prototype was also made and both are in use.  A few improvements for ease of assembly were identified, so some minor changes were made in the design before the plans were put up for sale in our Buy the Way section of the web site. Continue to Step 6 - Production Details and Production.

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