Rapid Prototyping and AI

Building web and mobile prototypes used to take a lot of time. Sketch something out, build it, find out it doesn't work, start over. In our previous company we designed and implemented a prototyping service called ProtoSonni. The value promise was to deliver a functional software prototype in one week - which was extraordinarily fast at that time. But AI is changing this game in fascinating ways.

Think of AI as your brainstorming buddy on steroids. Need ten different approaches to a user interface? Modern AI tools can generate them in minutes. Want to test how your app's architecture might handle different scenarios? AI can help you game out the edge cases before you write a single line of code.

Currently, there are services like V0, Bolt.new or Replit that can get you started even if you don’t have any coding skills. Just start prompting away and let your ideas fly. If you’re flexible in your approach and know what you are after, you are already able to get interesting - and usable - results.   

Still, the real magic happens when you combine AI with traditional prototyping. Instead of just throwing ideas at the wall, you can have intelligent conversations about your design choices. "What if we tried this?" becomes "Here are three variations, with pros and cons for each." Also, developing the initial prototype further might prove to be tedious without advanced workflows and skills.

Let's be real - AI isn't replacing human creativity or judgment. It's more like having a really fast assistant who can help you explore more possibilities in less time. The key is knowing when to use AI and when to trust your gut. The future of prototyping isn't about AI taking over - it's about humans and machines tag-teaming to build better stuff, faster.

My advice? Start small. Use AI to generate initial concepts, but keep your critical thinking hat on. Let it help you fail faster and learn quicker. Just remember - you're still the one making the decisions about what actually works for your users.