Chapter 8 - Prototyping

In Chapter 8, Professor Featherman discusses the process of introducing new products into the marketplace. After brainstorming and researching a potential product, most innovative companies choose to develope a prototype prior to the product's release. Professor Featherman states that prototypes are simply "test versions of a proposed product" evaluated by potential investors and consumers. Prototyping has proved time and time again to be an accurate forecast as to how consumers will react to the product. Often used in focus groups, prototypes give potential consumers the opportunity to phsyically hold or experience a product and, in turn, praise or critique it. The picture above depicts a protoype of Aptera's Electric Hybrid Car which was no doubt tested and evaluated by investors and consumers alike. By allowing potential consumers to handle a new, innovative product, market researchers can gain more insight as to how to product will do in the future. In fact, the insight gained from Aptera's Electric Hybrid Car prototype must have been significant, considering the fact that these environmentally friendly vehicles have entered production!