On seamless prototyping

With the advent of visual programming environments and visual programming languages, the face of software prototyping has changed forever. Modern software interfaces have a look-and-feel which was inconceivable to most practitioners just a decade ago, and this rapid advance has been fueled by imaginative research in human factors and computer graphics. However, we view this as a mixed blessing for (a) these advances have distracted researchers from more pressing, fundamental methodological concerns, and (b) the sophisticated interface technology encourages "facade" prototyping. Many modern prototypes are, s a result, shallow if not hollow and of little utility beyond what could be accomplished more easily and more inexpensively with presentation software.In this paper we encourage practitioners to consider more widespread use of a seamless prototyping strategy. Seamless prototyping is characterized by the closeness with which the prototype resembles the final product. We argue that this proximity may be achieved by extending the prototype development time and delaying its initiation and a continuous, gradual development process. While a seamless approach to prototyping will require more time and energy than less robust alternatives the reward follows from the fact that the prototype is faithful to the vision of the end result and that little development effort is wasted. We then illustrate seamless prototyping with examples from our own experience.