A prototype is a simpler design and build centered on the primary app workflow. A minimum viable product (MVP) connects the agreed core workflows in a working app for customer or beta use.
Both can be tested, documented, and delivered through TestFlight. The difference is the breadth of the build and the milestone it needs to serve.
Prototype
Test the primary workflow.
A prototype places the central workflow on a device early. It can be used for internal review, workflow testing, demonstrations, investor meetings, and early usability work.
- One primary workflow from start to finish
- Working mobile prototype
- Agreed concept and workflow tests
- Records for the prototype scope
- Known assumptions and limitations
Minimum viable product
Use the agreed core workflows.
An MVP connects the core workflows the team has agreed are needed for customer or beta use. It is a broader working build with testing and records for those workflows.
- Agreed core workflows connected in one app
- Working mobile MVP
- Customer or beta use
- Tests and results for the agreed MVP scope
- Release records and source-code handoff
MedTech considerations
The product determines the records.
Intended use, users, use environment, claims, risk, and the product milestone shape the regulatory, software, usability, and test records. The words prototype and MVP describe the build level; they do not establish the product's regulatory status.
Depending on the agreed scope, a prototype or MVP and its records may be ready for formative or summative human factors testing. That readiness is evaluated against the product, the build, and the planned study.
Choose by the next decision
Four questions usually clarify the build.
- Which workflow must work on the device?
- Who will use or review the build?
- What decision or evaluation must it enable?
- Which records are needed at that milestone?