Prototype in the codebase
What changes when the prototype and the product share components, and what it costs.
Note
For years I built prototypes in one tool and products in another, and spent a week translating between them. Now the prototype lives in the same repository as the product.
What changes
The prototype uses real components, so a fix to the prototype is a fix to the product. Testers see real data. Engineers see the idea in a form they can read.
What it costs
It is slower on day one. A sketch that takes an hour in a design tool takes a morning in code. The saving comes in week three, when nothing has to be rebuilt.
When not to
If the question is “which of these five directions”, draw. If the question is “does this work”, build.
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