Proof of Concept in the IT Industry

Why do you need PoC in the IT industry? Convince yourself of the mindset that turning your ideas into a viable version of a product is an essential part of the product development lifecycle, whether it lives to see delivery or ends up in the trash. Creating the zero version of the software product gives you a look ahead to the possible demands or obstacles you can mitigate at the beginning.

The proof of concept in software development includes documentation with evidence of the idea’s technical feasibility. Inside the PoC’s documents, you can find the future functionalities and technological stack. PoC, meaning in the IT industry, also stands for information about the intended audience, target demographic, and market demand.

Proof of concept in software development allows you to verify that the idea for an application or program will perform tasks as you envisioned. Your software development team can successfully use lines of code and scripts written at the proof of concept stage.

What does PoC mean in the IT industry? Preparing a successful proof of concept lets you know if your game-changing brainchild will influence its users’ lives as much as you expect. Verifying your idea with the target market at an early stage will save disappointment when you release the final product and encounter very low customer interest.

Why spend money on a product that won’t get your audience’s attention? One failure can sink you in the eyes of partners and investors, who will not trust you again. A strong PoC in the IT industry will allow you to take a path that will lead you to success.

Unlike most processes in the IT industry, proof of concept in software development does not have a specific shape or required components. Nonetheless, the document must include some areas to get the appropriate PoC meaning in the IT industry and inside your software development company.

To have accurate PoC feasibility measurements, you must have a set of defined objectives. To state the success criteria for your PoC in the IT industry, you can start by quizzing the clients and then setting their high satisfaction level as a goal of the PoC.

The scope of your proof of concept in software development determines what will be done and measured in the pilot project version. Defining the limitations of your PoC is crucial to receiving accurate results. Even if the PoC proves feasible, it is void if the scope isn’t correct because you failed to assess the project thoroughly.

Who you choose to cooperate with on all the stages of the PoC pilot project is as important as the planning process. You need to conduct marketing research to match the target audience that will test your prototype and find partners with experience in the industry you represent. Such a matched community is the key to effective business development.

How can you create a strong proof of concept in software development without strict guidelines? Lead with the following pointers, defining elements you should highlight in your PoC. The lack of specific rules for creating a proof of concept plays to your advantage, as it allows you to express your idea in an accessible way.

You should only put time and money into a product that solves your customers’ real-life problems. Talk to a representative sample of people and gather feedback about the pain points they are experiencing. Interview potential users and stakeholders until the answers about their worries repeat frequently. By the end of this stage, you’ll have a list of the most vital features in your software.

The next step of POC in the IT industry is to create with your development team a software prototype that changes your project idea into a primary version that you can use to test with the previously interviewed users. Depending on the product’s type, this could be a mockup, a sketch, or a wireframe. It should demonstrate the expected workflow, envisioned features, and the essential UI/UX elements.

After you get the prototype version, test it with your focus groups for additional feedback. Throughout the process, you will discover the actual assets of your app and see how intuitive it is. Use this valuable feedback to modify your tool consistently and repeat the process if necessary.

In the last stage of the PoC process, collect all the information you’ve gained throughout the consecutive steps and document it in a roadmap. The roadmap should show the detailed procedure for developing the solution and present the targets and objectives. The roadmap will be a strong argument for potential investors and documentation with technical specifications for building the product.

You already know how to prepare an excellent PoC in the IT industry, but are you wondering if spending the time and resources to do this work makes sense? Check out the advantages of preparing a PoC for you, your stakeholders, and the intended users of your software solution.

Preparing a preliminary product version will reduce the time it takes to execute it once you decide the brilliant idea has a chance of success. Some of the elements made for the PoC can be carried over to the final version unchanged. PoC in the IT industry reduces a few weeks and saves resources.

Involving your stakeholders or end users in the development process from the early version will raise their confidence in your efforts. If you base your business on trust and cooperation from the very beginning, introducing proof of concept in software development, skeptical investors will be more eager to commit their assets.

Constructing a PoC in the IT industry allows you to engage in the step-by-step process with potential customers so you can adjust its shape and functionalities to the business needs from the start. Stakeholders and customers will be pleased to know that the software is tailored to their needs.

When creating a Proof of Concept, you are bound to encounter terms such as Prototype or MVP. These terms differ from PoC’s meaning in the IT industry, but they intermingle in many aspects. If you decide to do these in a software development project, PoC, Prototype, and MVP can be the next steps in building your project.

Metaphorically, a PoC in the IT industry is a paper with a precise idea for an application or program. It is not yet a tangible form of the product, but based on the PoC, customers’ vision, expectations, and needs can be verified with the initial stage of the development.

Prototype is the result of turning the words in the PoC into the technically feasible software product version. The prototype can be a mock-up or a demo version that visualizes the gathered assumptions. With the prototype, you can see what the layout and functionalities look like.

Then, you can turn your prototype into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The idea of MVP is to see the market reaction and gather valuable feedback about the functionalities included in the MVP version. The MVP stage is the perfect time to find and fix the bugs. You can also tweak the product’s elements to the clients’ expectations before you release the final product.

When is a good time to proceed with the product you presented in proof of concept in software development? Suppose you have backed up the previous stage with thorough user feedback and are confident your product idea will find a paying audience. In that case, you can move on to prototype or minimum viable product development. A precise interview also allowed you to gather information about your team’s resources and offers from your stakeholders.

A decision based on PoC in the IT industry will not always be favorable. If the proof of concept analysis doesn’t work, you must push back your excellent business plan. Many start-ups or larger companies have rejoiced in their pride and then failed miserably when their product turned out to be unnecessary in the market. Trust the users and take a step back to take a few steps forward later.

The product development process is a long, bumpy road leading from a germinating idea to a successful software product. Having a Proof of Concept in software development helps lend credibility to your idea in front of potential investors, who will be much more likely to trust you when they see that the software idea has the chance to turn into a real profitable product. What other advantages are worth taking the time to create a PoC in the IT industry?

Proof of concept in software development will be helpful not only at the initial stage of the project. During the application development, the PoC will allow you to return quickly to your initial assumptions. With this document, you can also remind yourself why you shouldn’t use certain features or options in your solution.

Your company has never prepared a proof of concept before? A preliminary version of an idea allows you to explore development paths and conquer the market gradually. If you have doubts that a self-prepared PoC in the IT industry will adequately measure potential risks, contact Scalo. A consultation with experienced specialists will equip you with the skills and tools to prepare valuable prototypes.