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PRISM · Methodology
Prototype

Prototype Readiness Levels

PRL · 9 levels · adapted from NASA TRL and ARPA program-management practice

PRL describes the maturity of the prototype itself — from a research-grounded idea (Level 1) through sustained scaled use across many real classrooms with priority student populations (Level 9). Use PRL when the question is: does the product actually work, in real classrooms, for the students it's built for?

1
Discovery & Feasibility
Basic Research
▸

You have an idea grounded in learning science or research. No prototype yet.

Self-assessment questions

  • Is your idea grounded in specific, citable research from learning science, cognitive science, or a related field?
  • Can you articulate the mechanism by which your idea is expected to improve a specific learner or educator outcome?
  • Have you documented the prior research that supports your theory of change, even informally?
To advance to PRL 2: translate your research grounding into a specific, concrete application concept. Identify which components would need to exist for it to work.
2
Discovery & Feasibility
Applied Research
▸

You've formulated a specific application concept and can describe it, though it's still speculative.

Self-assessment questions

  • Have you translated your research grounding into a specific, concrete application concept (a product, tool, practice, or intervention)?
  • Can you describe the specific educational activity your application is intended to enhance or replace?
  • Have you identified, at least on paper, which components of the application would need to exist for it to work?
To advance to PRL 3: test individual components in isolation. Run a feasibility study showing the concept could plausibly work. Characterize the user process with baseline data.
3
Discovery & Feasibility
Proof of Application Concept
▸

You've run feasibility studies. Individual components work in isolation under controlled conditions.

Self-assessment questions

  • Have individual components of your application been tested in isolation (not yet integrated)?
  • Have you completed a feasibility study showing the concept could plausibly work as intended?
  • Do you have a detailed characterization of the user process, including baseline performance before your application?
To advance to PRL 4: build an integrated prototype where the components work together. Demonstrate it in a lab-like environment. Identify organizational and human-process issues a real deployment will need to address.
4
Development, Testing, Validation
Initial Prototype & Verification
▸

You have a low-fidelity working prototype. It demonstrates basic functionality in a lab-like setting.

Self-assessment questions

  • Have you built an integrated prototype — even a low-fidelity one — where the components work together?
  • Has the prototype been demonstrated in a lab-like environment (not yet a real classroom)?
  • Have you identified the organizational and human-process issues a real deployment will need to address?
To advance to PRL 5: build a medium-fidelity prototype and test it in a simulated or closely-approximating classroom environment. Articulate, with evidence, the specific performance improvement the application could achieve.
5
Development, Testing, Validation
Validation in Relevant Environment
▸

A medium-fidelity prototype has been tested in a simulated or closely-approximating classroom environment. Performance potential is articulated.

Self-assessment questions

  • Has your medium-fidelity prototype been tested in a simulated or closely-approximating classroom environment?
  • Can you articulate, with evidence, the specific performance improvement the application could achieve in real classrooms?
  • Have you defined what scaling the prototype would require (technical, operational, data)?
To advance to PRL 6: build a high-fidelity prototype and beta-test it in a simulated operational environment. Demonstrate (not project) performance improvements. Begin running components in end-user environments.
6
Development, Testing, Validation
Demonstration in Relevant Environment
▸

A high-fidelity prototype has been demonstrated in a simulated operational environment. Performance improvements are demonstrated, not just projected.

Self-assessment questions

  • Has your high-fidelity prototype been beta-tested in a simulated or relevant operational environment?
  • Have you demonstrated (not merely projected) performance improvements in that environment?
  • Are any components of your application already running in end-user environments, even if not the full system?
To advance to PRL 7: the hardest jump in the ladder. School partnerships, data-sharing agreements, integration with school technology stacks, and teacher training — none of which are technical problems. Most ventures stall here.
7
Deployment, Demonstration, Integration
Application Prototype in Operational Environment
▸

Your prototype is running in a real classroom, integrated with the actual systems and workflows of the school.

Self-assessment questions

  • Is your prototype running in a real classroom, integrated with the actual systems and workflows of the school?
  • Has functionality been demonstrated (not just promised) to the educators and students using it?
  • Have you worked out most of the major bugs and integration issues that surfaced during classroom deployment?
To advance to PRL 8: finalize the product build-out. Complete V&V testing. Produce user, training, and maintenance documentation. Get formal qualification by school partners.
8
Deployment, Demonstration, Integration
Application Completed & Qualified
▸

Your product is fully built, tested, and qualified by school partners for use in their classrooms.

Self-assessment questions

  • Is the product fully built in its intended final form, with user, training, and maintenance documentation?
  • Has a school partner formally qualified or approved the product for ongoing use in their educational activities?
  • Has verification and validation testing been completed against your target outcomes?
To advance to PRL 9: deploy across multiple sites. Establish sustained-use measurement, outcome data collection infrastructure, customer support, and continuous improvement systems. Synthesize evidence for ESSA Tier I/II studies.
9
Deployment, Demonstration, Integration
Sustained, Scaled Use
▸

Your product is in sustained, scaled use across many real classrooms — including with priority student populations.

Self-assessment questions

  • Is the product in sustained, repeated use across multiple schools and classrooms over time?
  • Is use occurring specifically in schools serving priority student populations, with outcome data being collected?
  • Is there sustaining engineering, customer support, and continuous improvement infrastructure in place to maintain the product?
Top of the ladder. A prototype at PRL 9 has demonstrated impact at scale. The next questions are PeoML and ProML — does the team and process behind it match the prototype maturity?
Try PRISM with your own project
Open PRISM Self-Assessment Compare with PeoML & ProML People Readiness → Process Readiness →
PRISM · Portfolio Readiness Insight & Scoring Methodology · SETA-ED
PRL adapted from NASA Technology Readiness Levels and ARPA program-management practice. Citation: Uncapher, M. (2026). Education Prototype Readiness Levels (PRL). SETA-ED.