What influences the speed of prototyping? An empirical investigation of twenty software startups

TL;DR

This study investigates factors affecting prototyping speed in early-stage software startups through a case study of twenty European startups, proposing a prototype-centric learning model and identifying barriers and facilitators.

Contribution

It introduces a prototype-centric learning model for startups and identifies key factors influencing prototyping speed, filling a research gap in startup prototyping practices.

Findings

Proposes a prototype-centric learning model for startups.

Identifies barriers and facilitators across five dimensions.

Highlights importance of collaborative approach in prototyping.

Abstract

It is essential for startups to quickly experiment business ideas by building tangible prototypes and collecting user feedback on them. As prototyping is an inevitable part of learning for early stage software startups, how fast startups can learn depends on how fast they can prototype. Despite of the importance, there is a lack of research about prototyping in software startups. In this study, we aimed at understanding what are factors influencing different types of prototyping activities. We conducted a multiple case study on twenty European software startups. The results are two folds, firstly we propose a prototype-centric learning model in early stage software startups. Secondly, we identify factors occur as barriers but also facilitators for prototyping in early stage software startups. The factors are grouped into (1) artifacts, (2) team competence, (3) collaboration, (4) customer and (5) process dimensions. To speed up a startups progress at the early stage, it is important to incorporate the learning objective into a well-defined collaborative approach of prototyping