Mark Headd: “In product development, we often use prototypes — small, lightweight, temporary applications or artifacts — to understand user needs and reduce risk. Prototypes are a great way to test out ideas or approaches before you actually commit to building anything. Although more people are recognizing the value of prototyping, governments are not always set up to develop and use prototypes efficiently before building digital services. Through our work with federal agencies and state governments, we’ve used prototypes to help clarify technical complexity, understand user needs, and to inform software procurements. Here are a list of factors that governments should consider to become better prepared to build prototypes in designing and improving digital services…”