Few things in the process of product design can vary as much as the time spent prototyping.

To protect against work without end, it is important to fully understand the scope of what you are setting out to accomplish BEFORE you begin the work. Without establishing proper guidelines, you could set a course for endless work that brings you no closer to a solution.

With any prototype, the goal is to construct an incomplete but functioning version of the product or site that you've been working on. Prototypes are tools for display and demonstration. Users can provide you with better feedback and internal teams are more receptive to seeing ideas in motion.

The prototyping phase is still dangerous because of scope creep — the art of pet projects and other nonessential work that bosses, clients, and peers are attempting to saddled into your work.

Resources for review

Please use the following items to guide your exercise attempt: | Article/Video | Source/Author | | --- | --- | | Creating Styles with Figma (video) | New Pragmatic | | Creating Components with Figma (video) | New Pragmatic | | Greater than the sum of the parts | New Pragmatic | | A pathway to components | New Pragmatic |

Exercise

Length: Four-to-six hours to complete.

As the video above displays, building a prototype in Figma is relatively straightforward. Still, your discoveries along the way will often lead to additional wireframe work in addition to what you produced in the previous exercise.

Your recent work has been guided by the four, or five-user flows you previously selected to test with users. Those should all be present in your prototype.

Step One: Duplicate your existing wireframe work in Figma. Control + click will provide the option to duplicate in Figma. On your new Figma page, include the list of user flows that your prototype is attempting to create.

Step Two: In your Journal, document the selected tests AND the path that should be followed to complete the journey successfully.

Your prototype is a significant portion of the overall project and will take time to complete. You are encouraged to post updates to your Journal in the #Feedback-Loop channel for review as you progress through the work.

Once complete, update your Program Journal with links the assets produced for this exercise. Post your Journal in the #Feedback-Loop channel for review.

///

Up next Fresh Market: User Testing