A prototype means a preliminary model of anything which gives us a rough idea about the basic functionalities that the real model would have. The prototyping model follows the same strategy.

原型意味着任何事物的初步模型，这使我们对真实模型具有的基本功能有了一个粗略的了解。 原型模型遵循相同的策略。

In the prototyping model, we first take a note of the initial requirements of the user about the software, create its prototype and release it to the user for evaluation. This prototype does not perform all the functionalities that the final software would perform but it depicts all of them. The prototype is concerned with the designing part of the software and not the implementation part. Now, the user evaluates and gives reviews regarding it, if he is satisfied with the model or not. If any further additions or modifications are to be made, then again the changes in the design of the model are made, or else the prototype model is finalized and forwarded for development. After that, it is coded, tested and deployed and then maintained afterward as required.

在原型模型中，我们首先记录用户对软件的初始要求，创建其原型并将其发布给用户进行评估。 该原型不执行最终软件将执行的所有功能，但是描述了所有功能。 原型与软件的设计部分有关，而不与实现部分有关。 现在，如果用户对模型不满意，则可以对其进行评估并给出评论。 如果要进行进一步的添加或修改，则再次进行模型设计的更改，否则将最终确定原型模型并将其转发给开发。 之后，对其进行编码，测试和部署，然后根据需要进行维护。

A basic overview of the Prototyping model can be made from the following diagram:

可以从下图对原型模型进行基本概述：

Fig. The Prototyping model (A type of software lifecycle model)

图：原型模型(一种软件生命周期模型)

为什么要使用原型模型？ (Why to use prototyping model?)

While developing software, there are cases wherein the initial stages, we do not know what the overall requirements of the software are. This happens mostly in cases where the customer is not completely sure what he wants his software to look like. So, in these cases, the prototyping model is the best suited because the user can now have some suggestions from the designing team and also make his modifications in the software. Therefore, it is recommended to be used in the following situations:

在开发软件时，有时会处于初始阶段，我们不知道软件的总体要求是什么。 这种情况通常发生在客户不能完全确定他希望其软件的外观的情况下。 因此，在这些情况下，原型模型是最合适的，因为用户现在可以从设计团队那里获得一些建议，并且可以在软件中进行修改。 因此，建议在以下情况下使用：

• Customer requirements are not clear and complete.

  客户要求不明确且不完整。

• The Design is not clear, i.e. how the software must look like.

  设计不清楚，即软件外观如何。

• The technicians and developers are not clear about the design of the software.

  技术人员和开发人员不清楚软件的设计。

• The user knows what inputs are to be given and what is the expected output that the software must produce, but is not clear with the user interface how these things will be displayed on the device.

  用户知道要提供什么输入以及软件必须产生的预期输出是什么，但是用户界面不清楚这些东西将如何显示在设备上。

翻译自: https://www.includehelp.com/basics/the-prototyping-model-software-engineering.aspx