Prototyping is a technique of RAD, which stands for rapid application development. The driving force behind RAD is simple: produce tangible results cheaply and quickly, ironing out the imperfections as you go. A great way to accomplish this objective, prototyping is an iterative process through which system designers and developers interact closely with system users. This iterative process involves the creation of a prototype, a working yet not fully functional version of the system, which is in turn presented to system users for their feedback. This feedback is information that is worked back into another round of design. This iterative process can be repeated each time with each cycle producing a more functional and robust version of the information system. While the prototyping / RAD approach may not be suitable for some projects, and its usefulness may be questionable beyond a certain point during systems analysis and design, this approach does recognize that developing a system based on complete, infallible set of specs is not always possible.

The following diagram illustrates the iterative nature of RAD.

With interface templates, precompiled libraries, and components enabling quick database connectivity and other functionality, Microsoft Visual Basic is an invaluable RAD tool for prototyping system interfaces. The image to the right is an information system interface created in Visual Basic. A variety of pre-built input and output components, such as display fields, list boxes, and option buttons (all used in the example at the right) can be quickly added to the interface to give end users a richer product during rapid application development.

Moreover, with the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment, skilled VB developers can create extensible, robust, fully functioning systems and systems components.