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.

原型意味著任何事物的初步模型，這使我們對真實模型具有的基本功能有了一個粗略的了解。 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，我們首先記錄用戶對軟件的初始要求，創建其原型并將其發布給用戶進行評估。 該原型不執行最終軟件將執行的所有功能，但是描述了所有功能。 原型與軟件的設計部分有關，而不與實現部分有關。 現在，如果用戶對模型不滿意，則可以對其進行評估并給出評論。 如果要進行進一步的添加或修改，則再次進行模型設計的更改，否則將最終確定原型模型并將其轉發給開發。 之后，對其進行編碼，測試和部署，然后根據需要進行維護。

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

可以從下圖對原型模型進行基本概述：

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

圖：原型模型(一種軟件生命周期模型)

為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:

在開發軟件時，有時會處于初始階段，我們不知道軟件的總體要求是什么。 這種情況通常發生在客戶不能完全確定他希望其軟件的外觀的情況下。 因此，在這些情況下，原型模型是最合適的，因為用戶現在可以從設計團隊那里獲得一些建議，并且可以在軟件中進行修改。 因此，建議在以下情況下使用：

• Customer requirements are not clear and complete.

  客戶要求不明確且不完整。

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

  設計不清楚，即軟件外觀如何。

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

  技術人員和開發人員不清楚軟件的設計。

• 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.

  用戶知道要提供什么輸入以及軟件必須產生的預期輸出是什么，但是用戶界面不清楚這些東西將如何顯示在設備上。

翻譯自: https://www.includehelp.com/basics/the-prototyping-model-software-engineering.aspx