A Proposed Taxonomy for Physical Prototypes: Structure and Validation

This paper introduces a taxonomy of physical prototypes, benchmarking it with existing classifications to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages. The proffered taxonomy is evaluated by three approaches: (i) checking the orthogonality of the individual elements of the taxonomy, (ii) benchmarking the proposed taxonomy with existing classifications of prototypes, and (iii) demonstrating its utility by applying it to classify different prototypes. The results show the proposed taxonomy is capable of distinguishing prototypes with greater precision than what is possible with current classifications. Further, the proposed classification is generally orthogonal, allowing for more consistent delineation between prototypes. However, the findings also reveal that some of the taxa are interdependent; exploring these interdependencies to develop a deeper understanding of how prototyping influences design thinking is the focus of future research.