The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
rapid prototyping
The creation of a working model of a software module
to demonstrate the feasibility and suitability of the function.
The prototype is expected to be replaced or refined before
inclusion in the final product.
Rapid prototyping contrasts with a DIRFT approach which
emphasises careful design and implementation to avoid the
overheads of debugging and testing prototype code. Rapid
prototyping is appropriate when the requirements are unclear or
likely to change (which is most of the time).
(2012-11-17)