Remember the story of Goldilocks? The porridge had to be just right, and the same is true for prototype fidelity. Before building anything, ask yourself: Does this prototype align with my user research goals?

That question sits at the core of the Goldilocks principle—choosing a level of fidelity that is not too little and not too much, but appropriate for what you’re trying to learn. Many professionals assume meaningful user feedback requires a fully coded, end-to-end experience. In reality, that’s rarely true. The level of fidelity should always be driven by your research goals. What you want to learn determines the method you use, and that method, in turn, defines how detailed your prototype needs to be.