Before you can build a functional prototype, you need a place to build it. A development environment is the combination of tools you install and configure on your own machine — a language runtime, a framework, an editor, a package manager, a version control system, and a way to preview your work as you change it. Setting this up deliberately, rather than improvising, saves hours of confusion later and makes it possible for teammates to run the same project without surprises.
In this course the environment matters because your prototype has to be reachable by real test participants. That means choosing a technology stack you can actually finish in the time available, tracking your work in version control so changes are recoverable and attributable, running a local server with live reload so you can iterate quickly on interface details, and finally deploying a build somewhere participants can open it on their own devices.
The videos below approach this from three angles: a hands-on front-end setup walkthrough, a conceptual map of back-end options, and a focused look at isolating project dependencies. As you watch, pay attention to the setup steps themselves — what gets installed, what commands are run, what a project folder ends up looking like — and to the reasoning behind each tool choice. Ask yourself which parts your team's prototype actually needs and which are unnecessary complexity for a prototype that only has to survive a usability session.
Together these videos give you the practical foundation for MO1: you cannot develop a functional prototype without a working stack, a running local server, and a project structure that your team can share and rebuild. The backend overview helps you scope your technology choices realistically so the core features in your requirements are achievable, while the React setup walkthrough and the virtual environment tutorial establish the reproducible local workflow you will use throughout the build. That same reproducibility underpins MO3 — being able to run, rebuild, and deploy a known version of your prototype is what lets you check it against the interface requirements before participants see it, and a deployed, stable build is the precondition for executing the testing plan you design under MO2.
These videos were chosen from YouTube on October 3, 2026. Each has captions; the player turns them on. Videos on YouTube can be changed or removed — if one no longer plays, tell your instructor. If a player does not appear, use its Watch on YouTube link.