A prototype is the cheapest way to find out whether an idea survives contact with real users. Rather than spending the whole budget on a finished product nobody has tried, we build the smallest version that proves the point and put it in front of people.
What gets built
The one workflow that matters, working, with real data. Not every screen, not every edge case, and not the admin panel. Enough to demo to a customer, a board or an investor and get a decision rather than an opinion.
Built to keep or to throw away
I will tell you up front which one this is. Some prototypes are the first commit of the real product and should be built accordingly. Others exist to answer one question and should be cheap and disposable. Confusing the two is how projects end up with a demo in production.
Then what
You get the prototype, the code, and a straight assessment of what a production build involves: what is missing, what it would cost, and whether the response you got justifies it. Including when the answer is that it does not.
