What is a Proof of Concept ?

Proof of concept (PoC) is creating evidence and documentation about the feasibility of an idea. It outlines how the idealized product or service would become market-ready, how it would function, if it’s needed, and who is the target demographic.

While a proof of concept has several applications in different fields (ranging from marketing to medicine), when it comes to software development, it applies to a specific process. For software-specific ideas, a PoC is an act of determining if the software can be built in the real world, what technologies should be used in the development, and whether the software is likely to be adopted by its intended users.

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Why is a Proof of Concept Important?

In creating a proof of concept, you are essentially laying out on paper why your idea would be successful in the market. Think of it like a business plan for a software idea. Though the inclination to skip making a POC can be tempting, it’s important to fully flush out your idea for a few reasons.

·        Validity – before you skip to development, it’s crucial to know if your idea is feasible. Can it be built with your budget? Is there a demand for it in the market? What would the ROI be?

·        Focus Group Testing- So many startups waste time and money building something they think people want, only to go back and change it when they get feedback that their idea missed the mark. Taking a proof of concept and testing it with your potential user base will help you get early feedback on what people actually want. You can then streamline your idea’s development, thus saving you many hours and dollars spent on solving the wrong problems.

·        Money generation- If you plan on sourcing investors to back your project, you’re going to need to show them you’ve thought your idea through to the end. Creating an early roadmap that predicts market value, possible sticky points, and how to monetize your software idea will make a strong statement in creating investor confidence in your product.

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Why Do You Need a Proof of Concept?

Although nearly everyone who comes up with an idea is convinced it will work, creating a proof of concept to test your idea will ensure you arrive at the best version of it and will save you time and money in the process. Laying out every detail about your idea will help highlight gaps in your product plan that you might not realize exist.

A proof of concept is also free, so it’s a low-stakes way to test your idea with other people. Whether you’re adding new features onto an existing software or whether you’re building something new completely from scratch, a proof of concept will ensure that you take the fastest, most direct route to success.

We’ll use the idea of a dog grooming app as an example proof of concept. In this case, the PoC would identify what this app will be adding to the mobile world of booking dog groomers, which users are likely to request grooming services through it, expected problems that might arise in developing it, and the future plan to monetize this app.  

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