A behavioral prototype explores some isolated element of the system, such as a new algorithm, a user interface model, or a database schema. Its purpose is the rapid exploration of design alternatives, so that areas of risk can be resolved early without endangering the production releases. Such prototypes are, by their very nature, incomplete and only marginally engineered, and they are meant to be thrown away after they have served their purposes.

行为原型探索系统中某些独立的部分，如新算法，用户接口模型，或数据库schema。它的目的是快速探索可选的设计，这样可以尽早解决某些风险，使产品的发布版本免受危害。从本质上来说，这样的原型是不完整的，只完成了起码的工作，在完成它们的任务之后是准备抛弃的。