A Live Prototype puts your solution into the real world for weeks or months. This is your chance to stress test the complete system and see how all the parts work together.
Duration
4 hours
Group Size
4-8
Category
IDEO
Difficulty
Easy
Determine the feasibility and viability of your solution. Test system integration in real market conditions. Iterate based on feedback.
A live prototype in a real-world context.
Testing in an actual environment.
Validated real-world viability.
This exercise requires significant operational setup. It bridges the gap between prototyping and piloting. It allows for rapid iteration under real conditions. Don't underestimate the prep time.
Define learning goals. Identify key questions about your solution's reach and effectiveness. Determine specific hypotheses to test.
Define prototype scope. Decide on the testing duration. Select testing locations. Keep the scope small and manageable. It's easy to get overambitious here.
Prepare monitoring and evaluation. Set up your monitoring and evaluation tools. Plan your data collection methods. Establish clear success metrics.
Consider multiple variations. Run simultaneous prototypes to test different approaches. Compare the results.
Continuous iteration. Adjust quickly based on daily learnings. Make real-time improvements. Document all changes.
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Before you run the room, you read it. Steal from facilitators who've made every mistake, study the moves that worked, and stockpile exercises you can pull when the agenda goes sideways. Your reading list now is your toolkit later.
A workshop is a sequence of decisions you make before anyone walks in: who's there, what changes by the end, where the energy spikes and dips. Block out the time, name the moves, leave room for the room. Plan tight enough to start, loose enough to follow what actually happens.
The plan meets the room and the room wins. Your job is to read what's actually happening, not what you scripted, and steer with small, specific moves. Hold the timer. Surface the unsaid. Cut what's not landing.
The hour after the workshop is when the value either compounds or evaporates. Capture what surfaced, send the artifacts before momentum dies, and write down the one thing you'd do differently. Run enough sessions and the patterns become a craft.
Workshop tips picked for the rooms you actually run. Three times a week. No "10 tricks for hybrid" listicles, no synergy slides, no hot takes dressed as frameworks.
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