Physical prototype

Build the idea out of cardboard, tape, foam, or scrap so you can walk around it and bump into it. Use this when the decisive test is spatial or bodily, something a spreadsheet or screen cannot let you feel.

Build the idea out of cardboard, tape, foam, or scrap so you can walk around it and bump into it. Use this when the decisive test is spatial or bodily, something a spreadsheet or screen cannot let you feel.

Example

Before committing $18,000 to the kitchen renovation, tape the proposed island footprint on the floor and stack boxes at counter height. Cook in it for 10 days. You discover the walkway to the fridge drops to 26 inches, so the island shrinks.