| Microsoft Office 2000/Visual Basic Programmer's Guide | |
For most Office 2000 solutions, you don't need to build a full-fledged prototype — the solution that you're building can act as the prototype that you show to your customers. When you begin building the solution, however, it's useful to approach it as though it were a prototype, so that you can quickly demonstrate to your customers how the solution is going to work.
Map out a general user interface, but don't spend hours laying out controls and adding graphics if the user interface may need to be altered. Also forego work on the fine details of navigation through the solution, unless that's a critical part for your customers to see.
Build the core part of the application first. For example, if you're building a wizard, focus on the code that generates the basic result, rather than adding in the various options that users will be able to select to fine-tune the outcome. This way you can determine whether you're on the right track for creating the solution that your customers need. Also, once you've tackled the hard problems, you'll have more insight into the way that the final solution will work and a better understanding of your customers' business process.
Use sample data to test your initial design. Don't use live data or your customers' only copy of the data if your solution may modify it. Create a local copy of the data that you can isolate until you've thoroughly tested the solution.