ABSTRACT
Executive summary: Prototypes are not development methodologies themselves, but rather they are partial replicas of larger applications built in order to experiment with key algorithms. Software prototypes come in two flavors—disposable and evolutionary. As the name implies, disposable prototypes are used to examine critical algorithms and are then discarded. Evolutionary prototypes are also used to examine critical algorithms, but are then used to grow and morph into a full application. Because prototypes are usually built in a hurry without formal quality control, evolutionary prototypes can be hazardous. Prototypes are very common and have been since the software industry began.
