Overview
Is your business or workplace using outdated software or experiencing low staff productivity? Maybe you have an idea to build a new application or platform to improve business processes or your customer’s experience. Let’s say you have this great idea on paper, but you are unsure if it is feasible in your work environment. While you may already be convinced that the new process or software will solve your organization’s challenges, you might have difficulty convincing higher-ups to invest without seeing the idea in action.
To move your idea from paper to reality, you need to persuade your team by highlighting the value this new process or software brings to the organization. You will need various resources to make your idea a reality, so how can you go about convincing them?
That’s where Proof of Concepts or POC comes in. What exactly is a proof of concept? Essentially, it provides a real-world view of your potential product to demonstrate its viability and the probability of its success. The purpose of the proof of concept is to persuade decision-makers or investors that your idea will be a successful business decision.
Why is a proof of concept necessary?
A POC allows you to pinpoint what technologies, configurations, hardware, or software is required. It also outlines various cost options to see which technology will bring the highest return on investment. The proof of concept enables immediate feedback within your organization, allowing higher-ups to take a first look at the potential the product can bring for business.
Benefits of Proof of Concept
Some benefits of developing a proof of concept are as follows:
- Pinpoint the best technology and software for an application or web platform
- Increase the probability of piquing investors’ interest in the product
- Simplify the testing and validating process
- Allows for organizations to receive valuable feedback from a targeted group before building a fully developed system
- Allows you to onboard first clients before an official software release
- Test real-world scenarios
Conclusion
Before developing a new product, a successful proof of concept can be the deciding factor if an organization moves forward with a launch. It allows you to make informed decisions before making investments by analyzing the new software, feature update, or platform’s commercial viability. It outlines if the product is practical on the technology side. Producing a POC can prevent unexpected downtime by pinpointing possible discrepancies and other risks beforehand.