Tom Kelly from IDEO once said, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand meetings.” And this statement can’t be truer, especially when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT). Product development and its success depend upon the success of prototyping. But it must be combined with Agile development practices to enable quick testing, iteration and refinement of ideas, ultimately resulting in technically perfect and market-ready products. The Agile methodologies which hero flexibility, collaboration and iterative improvements, form the perfect foil to IoT prototyping, setting up a benchmark and easy to adapt framework for continuous reduction and risk mitigation.
It’s beyond working models of a system or devices; IoT prototyping is an approach that has its roots in testing, validation, addressing technical complexities during early development phases. If your company is looking to succeed in the IoT industry, efficient prototyping processes are indispensable.
The Main Benefits of IoT Prototyping in Agile Development
Rapid Concept Validation
IoT prototyping is all about validating ideas and concepts rapidly. This is the biggest benefit of IoT prototyping. As IoT devices and systems are complex, it becomes important to confirm on core features and functionalities of a product before development. With prototyping, developing proof of concepts that can be tested and iterated upon becomes extremely simple.
Rapid concept validation is dependent upon prototyping. It’s a sure shot way to avoid expensive mistakes by detecting issues early on in the process and dropping unfeasible concepts or missing key features early on.
Improved Feedback & Collaboration
Agile methodologies are built on collaboration, and prototyping serves as a platform for effective teamwork. Prototypes created in traditional DevOps processes are limited in scope一since they only address stakeholder feedback later in the development processes. Such isolated prototyping will typically lead to a weaker or less market-ready product. Agile methodologies encourage cross-functional teams from the outset.
With prototypes, representing products becomes easy. This allows managers, designers and product engineers to provide real-time feedback. Such an approach assures a refined approach to every aspect, whether it’s software, hardware or UX. Feedback from users is crucial to IoT product development, since the user experience needs the integration of software and hardware, as well as usability and reliability.
Iterative Improvement
Agile development is all about iterative improvements. Every iteration provides an opportunity to improve, whether it’s with testing, incorporating feedback, user interactions and tech evaluations. With IoT development based on Agile processes, this becomes better for product development. Since every prototype can have multiple phases and versions, with each one learning from the last attempt.
Experimentation also becomes easy with prototyping. Teams can explore different solutions, test out hypotheses and make changes on the fly. IoT development often needs hardware and software components to work together seamlessly, and iterative development allows for a more market-ready final product.
Mitigation of Risks
IoT development has its own set of risks. It’s complex and has market acceptance, technical challenges, and integration issues. Creating robust prototypes can offset a lot of these risks, early in the process
Working models allow for problem spotting, bug identification, design and experience flaws early. This saves a lot of the initial costs, as it becomes easy to gauge IoT products and how ready they are in terms of target market. Prototypes allow businesses to test their initial assumptions and pivot if needed, based on risk identification.
Top 3 IoT Prototyping Challenges
IoT prototyping has its share of challenges, despite the obvious benefits. And it’s important to address them by planning carefully and managing resources.
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Technical Complexities
Actuators, microcontrollers, sensors create a complex prototype development lifecycle for IoT systems. Add to this, the integration of software platforms, data analytics and networking, and you have a recipe for a system that’s inherently complex. In addition, the transition from the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage to the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage involves real data, with great volume and velocity, adding to the complexities.
Such a complex system will create challenges for IoT Prototyping, as IoT ecosystems require every element to be integrated from the start.
IoT technologies evolve as you read this, and as such prototyping deploys state-of-the-art tech that may involve limited documentation and support, increasing the challenge of integration.
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Allocation of Resources
IoT prototype development is quite expensive, requiring money, time, and expertise. Each layer of the application architecture needs to have quality checks and security standards in place. The need for specialized skills also increases the costs required.
So, businesses need to plan around this wisely to ensure that this doesn’t affect prototyping in Agile Development.
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Issues While Scaling
Post validating and refining the prototype, scaling the product for mass production is also a significant challenge. Prototypes focus on speed and functionality, which is why many prototypes don’t lead to final versions of products.
How to Ensure Success in IoT Prototyping: 4 Best Practices
Businesses should adopt some best practices to help maximize the effectiveness of IoT prototyping:
- Deploy Agile Methodologies
- Perform Regular Tests
- Using Correct Tools
- Focus on User Experience or UX Focus
IoT prototyping is an essential element in the Agile development process, offering numerous benefits such as rapid validation, enhanced collaboration, iterative improvement, and risk mitigation. This is why IoT software development teams should embrace Prototyping through Agile Development.
Find the Right Partner for Rapid Prototyping
Finding the right IoT prototyping partner is essential to the success of your IoT project. Don’t do it alone. At Bridgera, we bring over 8 years of experience in rapid prototyping and development. Get a customized IoT Proof of Concept (PoC) in just weeks. Click below to get a free consultation with one of our IoT experts.
About Bridgera: Bridgera effortlessly combines innovation and expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions using connected intelligence. We engineer experiences that go beyond expectations, equipping our clients with the tools they need to excel in an increasingly interconnected world. Since our establishment in 2015, Bridgera, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, has specialized in crafting and managing tailored SaaS solutions for web, mobile, and IoT applications across North America.
About Author: Krishna Varma is a writer and researcher, who enjoys writing about technology, IoT, and lifestyle. When she isn’t writing and reading, you’ll find her relaxing with a quiet cup of tea over the weekends.