Creating a proof of concept - why and how?

Thorough testing and analysing your product before launching it is an important stage in most technological branches, especially in software development. Here, it is important to make sure that the product will work properly and will be used by many users. The whole process of checking and verifying your project takes a few steps but what is necessary at the beginning is PoC – a proof of concept. What is PoC? How can you prepare one? Why do you need it? Let’s find the answers in the following article.

PoC – what is it?

There are a few ways in which you can prove that your idea is worth noticing. There is a chance that you have also heard about MVP and a prototype as the methods of verifying an ongoing IT project. What is the proof of concept, then, and how is it different from the other two?

The proof of concept, as the name suggests, provides evidence that the product can be done. It needs to fulfil three important features, that is:

• The product will work in real life
• It is feasible
• It can be designed on the agreed-upon conditions. PoC is the first version of your product, so to speak, which proves its future functionality.

MVP (a minimum viable product) works quite similarly to the PoC – it is a specific version of your product whose aim is to make sure that customers and users will be interested in it. MVPs usually have only basic features and functions, which makes them more efficient and cost-effective to make.

Finally, a prototype is created to indicate how the given product will be created. It’s a fully functioning version of your project, and it shows the exact way in which the ready-made product will be designed and produced. As you can see, the proof of concept is irreplaceable in the process of designing your digital product. Now, it is important to get to know how you can create one for your idea.

How to create PoC

Planning any kind of IT project requires organised steps and stages which you can complete and move on with. PoC is no different. Here is what you should cover while creating the proof of concept of your digital product:

1. Define your goals
2. Consider different solutions
3. Prepare a prototype
4. Analyse, test and evaluate

While the first two steps should not be problematic, designing a prototype and analysing your product is a meticulous task. Here at NoA, we will be happy to help you organise and execute these stages to meet your expectations.

The benefits of PoC

Creating a PoC is essential for the successful launch of your digital product. Thanks to it, you will achieve numerous goals on the way to your ready-made product:

• It will help you analyse and estimate the resources that need to be used to create the product.
• It minimises the risk of failure – if the product can be tested and analysed among potential users, it will give you feedback on what form of the product is most desirable.
• It is a perfect way to verify the ideas and solutions you want to implement in your product.
• Most importantly, it will help you understand the market demands and the product limitations which you can take into consideration in your future projects.

We know that PoC is an important part of launching the digital product. Want to read more about it? Check the full version of this article: How to create a proof of concept