discovery-prototypinglisted

# Discovery prototyping ## Core principle A prototype exists to answer one question. Build only what that question needs, and no more. The most common prototyping failure is building a beautiful artifact that answers nothing, because nobody decided what it was for. Second principle: **fidelity is a choice, not a stage.** Low fidelity is not a step on the way to high fidelity. It is the right tool when the question is about concept, structure or flow, and the wrong tool when the question is about comprehension, trust or desirability. ## Choose by the question | The question | Prototype | Fidelity | Time | |---|---|---|---| | Is this concept understood at all? | Sketch, storyboard, or a written description | Paper | Hours | | Does the structure make sense? | Wireframe or clickable wireframe | Low | Hours | | Can people complete the task? | Clickable prototype, realistic content | Medium | 1-2 days | | Do people find it credible and desirable? | High-fidelity visual, real copy, real data | High | 3-5 days | | Will people take a real step toward it? | Fake door or landing page | Live | 1-2 days | | Does it work with real data and real edge cases? | Live-data prototype | High | 1 week | | Is the value real when delivered? | Concierge or Wizard of Oz | Operational | 1-3 weeks | | Same, but in a clinical, financial-advice, legal, safety-critical or statutory context | **Shadow mode**, never Wizard of Oz. See `references/prototype-types.md` | Technical | 1-2 weeks | | Can it be