Prototype Template

About the Prototype Template

A prototype is a live mockup of your product. Building a prototype helps define the structure, user flow, and navigational details (such as buttons and menus) of a website or app without committing to final details, like visual design.

Prototyping by using a click-through model allows you to test your user experience of your product or service as close to the real thing as possible. Prototype design happens before you commit to building a product or service, saving you money by locating roadblocks early. It typically resembles a series of screens or artboards connected by arrows or links. A prototype can help navigate the most common ways or paths in a system.

Your team can determine how user-friendly your design concept actually is by using a prototype to:

• Understand user context and task flow by mimicking real software

• Create scenarios to test and prove user scenarios, needs, and personas

• Collect detailed product feedback in the usability testing phase

Prototypes are a collaborative and iterative way to define user needs. At a high-fidelity stage, prototypes align user research with business goals. At a low-fidelity stage, prototypes save teams time and money.

When to use the prototype template

Teams use prototypes to learn more about their users in the prototyping and testing stages of the design process. These two stages involve experimenting and creating scaled-down versions of a product or service and then testing them, to refine the best possible solutions.

Prototypes encourage teams to think of tangible outcomes, rather than abstract ideas.

High-fidelity prototypes – interactive templates that look and feel as close to the actual product as possible – can be used as a tool for stakeholder engagement and buy-in. A prototype that resembles a finished product can also help a team build confidence in how users will interact with and feel about the design.

A realistic prototype template can also help teams collect more accurate feedback. This will allow your team to address obstacles or unrealistic expectations early on in the development process.

Create your own prototype 

Prototyping is a quick and easy way to gain valuable user insights. To stay on track, remember what you’re testing for, and build your prototype with user needs in mind. Making your own prototype is simple with Miro's prototype template.

To get started:

1. Define your design concept

Pick an idea with your team to develop further. Consider storyboarding. Gain a big-picture understanding of how it works, and even better, explain it to your team. 

2. Plan out the user flow

You can now start to map out possible user interactions with your product or service, and the connections the user would make between them. The planning phase for your prototype is also the time to ask questions: what interactions are possible? Where does the product or service start and end for the user? What questions is the user trying to answer? What assumptions are you making, and wanting to test?

3. Create and connect all your screens

Wireframe all your main interaction screens. Add in navigational elements like menus, buttons, symbols, and images.  By following the mind map you made, start making elements interactive by introducing links, hotspots, scrolling capabilities, and endpoints. You can test your prototype by switching to presentation mode or exporting a PDF file.

4. Share with users and stakeholders

Run usability tests with users who have the problem you are trying to solve. As you learn and iterate, create concise notes that can be shared with your business stakeholders for early feedback. This documents your learning for internal purposes, and tracks your progress to help you meet your business goals!

FAQ about the prototyping template

How do you create a prototype?

Creating a prototype can be as simple as sketching your design and user flow by hand or made more realistic for user testing by using prototype tools. Miro’s Prototype Template allows you to create a prototype that resembles the finished product, which will help you collect more accurate feedback during the user testing phase.

What makes a good prototype?

A good prototype should mimic the real-world functionality of the app or website that you are designing and show you how different areas link to one another. The prototype should help you better understand the user experience and identify where adjustments may be needed based on feedback. A good prototype design will give you confidence in how users will interact with and feel about the end product.