Live prototyping

The technical skills required to effect functional and material changes to high fidelity prototypes can create barriers to the participation of other stakeholders in prototyping activities. In this paper we present an industrial case in which a "live" prototyping approach was trialled during the development of a new programmable radiator thermostat. A live prototype is an interactive prototype that permits real-time modifications to its interactivity within a collaborative session. We analyse collaborative events that were staged around a live prototype in order to demonstrate the ways in which the prototype worked as a platform for various stakeholders to participate in design, Practical benefits for development included the rapidity with which separate design iterations could be implemented in plenum and the ease with which changes to the interface could be rolled back when unforeseen difficulties were encountered. The live prototype also exposed latent issues in the complex organisation of an industrial design undertaking, including misalignments between stakeholders, institutional design constraints, and implicit design rationale. Additionally, by being modifiable and easily shareable, it also served as a physical form of documentation of the current state of the interface to other stakeholders. As an approach, live prototyping opened up the possibilities, constraints and organisational contexts of prototyping to stakeholders