Field Prototype

A FieldPrototype is a high fidelity system that can go into the field and perform the intended function. The hardware and software may not be in final form, but the system is real and performs the required functions.

Circa 1990 Dr. Alan Davis wrote about a Navy Field Prototype system called POST for Prototype Ocean Surveillance Terminal -- the POST system was a low cost system for processing and displaying the Naval Tactical Data System(NTDS) on smaller ships (at least that's what I recall, I may have the details slightly wrong) and it was accompanied into the field by programmers who interacted with the customers and changed the system to reflect the customers observations and needs. This was real customer driven prototyping and I gather led to a successful system. Perhaps someone out there knows the rest of the story ... But in any case, that is what I mean by a Field Prototype. -- RaySchneider

A couple of years ago, I contracted to a previous employer to help put together a FieldPrototype. We modified the hardware and software of an existing platform to implement a very different function. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. It was sent out to a customer's site, warts and all. We were quite happy to hear the report from the field that the customer had offered to buy the thing. It may interest RaySchneider to know that it was a piece of CATV test equipment...--TimVoght

Many years ago, an APL time sharing company where I worked found itself implementing "Prototype" systems for a number of clients. The clients, of course, "knew" that a "Production" system could not be implemented in an interpreted language, but did see that APL "Prototype" functions could be implemented many times faster. It didn't take long to notice all the "Prototype" systems that did real work for years, while hardly any (I think none) ever did get re-implemented in a "serious" language. --JimRussell

I recently witnessed a financial services company go out to tender for a new, speculative system. They asked for a prototype (not sure if this meets Ray's definition of a FieldPrototype) as part of each vendors' tender submission. The prototype included a handful of the most important features they were looking for and various performance metrics were used to compare the offerings. In the end the chosen supplier was asked to throw away their prototype and start again - note the connection to the MythicalManMonth. I guess such a purchasing tactic may add cost and time to the project and may only pay off with a speculative and risky project. Incidentally, it looks like it's about to pay off! --RickDewar

CategoryJargon