POC vs MVP vs Prototype: The Strategy for the Best Product-Market Fit

Proof of Concept, or PoC, is a stage in software development where the product is built to test technical assumptions and confirm if the idea is beneficial and applicable before going for the actual development.

That means you build PoC when you are unsure if the software would work according to the planned idea. PoC is usually a small segment of the entire system, which is unseen to the end-users, as it is just to clarify which way to go before going for the development.

Main features of PoC

If you're looking for an accurate and quick way to endorse or void assumptions about your core audience and software concept, then PoC is what you need. Some of the valuable features of PoC are:

• It gives you the knowledge on whether or not your software idea is workable
• It allows you to understand how your software can be implemented
• It helps you unearth risks and errors at the beginning of software development
• You can make quick decisions, as the results are in 'yes' or 'no'
• It saves your time and costs, as you can change your strategies rather than starting the entire project again after completing it

How Do You Create a PoC?

We’ve prepared a list of steps on how to create a PoC:

• Clarify the product idea and the goals it's trying to achieve, along with the scope of work, objectives, and essential resources
• Make the team responsible for product development and decision making, including the stakeholders
• Create use cases to measure the success criteria
• Implement test cases to examine the product's positivity, negativity, and durability
• Gather all the results and compare and discuss them with the stakeholders and the entire team to see whether or not the product is successful

PoC example

One of the best examples of the PoC approach is when Walmart decided to include Blockchain technology to track products' origins and refine its entire logistics system. To ensure it was the right thing to do and the company wasn't wasting its resources, the Walmart team built a Proof of Concept (PoC).

So your concept is proven now. The question is, how can you confirm whether or not it would work?

Relax! Next comes the prototype phase to ensure your product's viability.

A prototype is a model or sample of a product developed to test how effectively it works. One of the main reasons for building a prototype is to analyze, test, and rework the product until the expected outcomes are attained. In other words, the prototyping phase is a strategy to examine how a product would look once it's developed and what amendments it requires if the results are not up to the mark.

Building a prototype takes place when the PoC turns out to be positive, and it exposes bugs during the study and designing of the product.

Main features of prototypes

The prototype approach answers how the product will function. For instance, prototyping a mobile app is a type of user research to verify the strategic design of the software. So, the mobile app prototype will be the initial visualization to understand the mobile app's appearance and feel.

Therefore, using a prototype in this scenario is for testing the usability. You will have plenty of time to make amendments to the overall UX design and development to satisfy users in case of any problems or bugs.

A few of the many great features of the prototype include:

• It helps to identify mistakes in the design before the start of product development
• It saves your precious time, as well as monetary resources in contrast to full-stage development
• It permits users to understand your product's workflow
• It allows you to enjoy quick feedback before the development process
• It represents all complex ideas under a comprehensive format
• You can reuse prototypes to develop more complicated projects
• You can get a successful product prototype with attractive design and development, which will convince people to invest in the idea

How Do You Create a Prototype?

You can make a prototype of your product by following these steps:

• Define the user requirements and make a list of them so you can make the prototype accordingly
• Create the initial prototype (prototype I) with all the listed features
• Test the initial prototype by presenting it to the target audience, stakeholders, and users
• Gather the feedback and discuss it with the team
• Revise and repeat the process by following the input until desired results are achieved

Prototype example

The RubyGarage design team made a prototype of an e-commerce store. The store showed different UI element types and their positions to perceive how users would interact with the store when the final version is launched.

Once you know your prototype is successful, it is time to understand how the product would actually work in the real-life market. To do so, you will have to develop the MVP.

So what is that, and how can you create one? Keep on reading to find out the answers.

The "Minimum Viable Product" or "MVP" is what you call a testing version of the product with limited but sufficient features, making it workable. In simple words, in MVP development, the product doesn’t include a variety of cool features but only those traits that reveal the core functionality.

The reason why you build an MVP is to introduce the narrow version of the product to the market. In that way, you can understand whether or not the product is valuable. And in case the product emerges to be beneficial, bingo! You can start making money instantly from your initial customers and early users. And with this good news, you will be loaded with confidence and funds to include additional features on your MVP.

Main features of MVP

If you're implementing the MVP approach, it will help you develop a nominal and operational version of your product to kick off and test in the real market. The method will permit your team to grasp targeted users' experiences and their responses to your product. And learning from the real users' insights, you will be able to allot effort, time, and budget to all the essential areas to ensure the product satisfies your business objectives.

Creating an MVP is a repetitive process that helps reveal users' pain points and defines the correct functionality to overcome those problems over time. The MVP development comes with numerous features, like:

• It helps you develop the product with useful features to tackle users' requirements
• Uncovers the right direction for advanced development
• Provides knowledge about the product's ease of use and market demand
• You can verify the assumptions related to the product and its workability
• Reduces the product risks
• It helps save money and time for development and allows you to plan a correct development path
• A fully developed MVP can help you gain greater user feedback to show as proof to investors

How Do You Create an MVP?

This is how you can build an MVP for your product:

• Understand market demand to enhance the product idea
• Focus on the value addition
• Make a user-friendly design of your product for user flow
• Add the most beneficial features to the MVP by questioning users, like what they want and how this product can ease their lives
• Upon deciding the design and main features according to market needs, launch the MVP

MVP Example

It all started when an MVP successfully became the famous marketplace you know as Amazon.

When the initial version of Amazon was launched, the platform grew, and the founder, Jeff Bezos, started the expansion by widening the best-selling products on the website. He further improved the site's design to enhance user experience as customers were increasing on Amazon.

It was all possible because of user feedback, which allowed the gradual development of this global marketplace. And that made Amazon one of the biggest retailers in the entire world

Now that you're aware of what PoC, prototype, and MVP are, let’s see a table with the main differences between them.

We’ve prepared some tips for you to use when deciding which path to choose:

When Should You Use Proof of Concept (PoC)?

• To show customers a working model of the app
• To earn through your product (app)
• To have an error-free application ready for use by customers
• To understand the market demand to improve the application

When Should You Use a Prototype?

• To have an early-stage funding
• To verify if the idea is technically workable
• To share internal knowledge with the team
• To evaluate the success rate of the project or product traits

When Should You Use Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

• To have a complete visualization of the app’s functions
• To bring the app into the stakeholders' knowledge but have limited resources
• When the technical resources are limited
• To have an immediate appearance of the application

Knowing the importance, features, and pros of PoC vs. MVP vs. Prototype and selecting the correct strategy saves not only your time and money but also mitigates the risks of failures.

So, if you're unsure where to begin, our Geniusee specialists are always prepared to provide remarkable guidance. Contact us now, and let's turn your dream product into reality.