A way to turn prototypes into real tech easily and quickly. Like, this prototype, make it a real tech as I wanna use it and don't wanna fiddle about with options to replicate the damn thing when I have been spending time designing ships and forgot the exact specs. Like, maybe a button in ship design that says something like "Research Prototypes" that turn all the prototypes used in the class into a real design.
Prototypes only show up in the research list when you go to the class design screen, select the prototype in the components list and press the Research Prototype which appears. It might be nice to have a button to research all the prototypes in a given class but personally I don't think I use more than 1 or 2 prototypes at a time.
The reason that prototypes don't automatically show up in the research list is that you might make several prototype components at the same time (eg sensors or engines) and then try and fit the largest one on your ship. The ones you don't use never appear on the research list so you don't have to worry about researching the wrong component.
In fact, why have prototypes as a separate thing? Why not make all designed tech that have yet to be researched be prototypes automatically? The moment you research them they are not prototypes anymore but real tech, but until then they could work as prototypes do now.
I think your second point could be re-phrased as "When you press the create project button for a component, generate a prototype component with the (RP) designation".
At the moment if you know what you want and create a research project, you can't get access to the component in the design screen without also creating a prototype, but if you create a prototype then you have to hunt it down in the class design screen in order to generate the research project. If you're used to researching every component before you can use it then you probably don't mind that much but if you're new to Aurora then you might see it as a lot of unnecessary clicking.
My suggestion:
Add a button which upgrades the armour but makes the class a prototype. For clarity it would have to be a separate button from the current upgrade armour button.