This paper showcases pitfalls of standard prototyping practices and how they can effectively be eliminated through some best practices.

Table of contents
- The prototype design dilemma
- Cool graphics do not make a good HMI
- Modeling the HMI with EB GUIDE
A vehicle's HMI is a major factor that influences an OEM's brand identity. Inside the car, it is a key feature that communicates the carmaker's brand to the driver. Therefore this branding feature is a vital issue during develop-ment of the in-vehicle HMI. The HMI design should communicate the brand image, support new features and use cases, and be scalable across platforms with minimal effort. The first step to achieve such a design is to create a prototype. The prototype must implement the design on a real target device, i.e. one that is used in the intended car make. While in theory this is easy to understand, many organizations tend to falter when they put this into practice. Many designs that look stunning on tablets do not reach their full potential in practice on the final hardware.
Elektrobit’s end-to-end HMI tool: EB GUIDE