Sketches, wireframes, et al -- all worthy of testing

Whether you test your work on a regular cadence or only once or twice per cycle, the inevitable question that arises is what to actually test. We start to wrestle with the pressure of maximizing our time and money spent on testing and getting the most insight for that expense. Is it best to put a rough sketch of an idea in front of potential or existing customers or to wait until there’s a more fleshed out version to show? Should it be clickable (really clickable, i.e., working code) or a mocked up experience created using Axure, Powerpoint, Fireworks or any other tool?

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