Proof of Concept in Product Development: Create Strong POCs

As a product leader in manufacturing, you know how much effort it takes to develop a new product. Most ideas undergo numerous iterations before they’re ready for the market. Luckily, through the use of a proof of concept in product development, you can better manage and navigate these intricate processes.

It's no secret that new products require testing, feedback, and refinement to maximize their potential. So, how do you know which ideas will truly resonate with consumers? 

The answer to this question lies in a proof of concept (POC). A proof of concept in product development determines if a new idea has legs. It tests whether the product is financially viable, fulfills specific customer needs, and is technically feasible.

So, how can you build a strong and effective POC? Let’s dig in.

What is a Proof of Concept?

A proof of concept in product development is an early test conducted within the broader context of product development to demonstrate the viability and feasibility of a product or feature idea. The goal is to create a POC before investing resources in product development.

How do POCs Help Product Development?

In industrial manufacturing, bringing a new product to life isn’t just risky, it’s also expensive. A well-executed proof of concept (POC) gives product managers the confidence to move forward—or walk away—with data-backed clarity.

In product development, a proof of concept aims to demonstrate to relevant stakeholders the viability of a new product—including product or feature releases.

A proof of concept is a fundamental part of the product development process. It enables product teams to identify potential issues, test functionality, and determine the feasibility of bringing the new idea to market.

Effective product planning is essential at this stage to organize, schedule, and manage the steps required for a successful proof of concept, saving your team time and resources.

POC, Prototype, & MVP: What's the Difference?

Proof of concepts are often associated with prototypes and minimum viable products (MVPs). However, each represents a different stage of a product’s development.

When considering proof of concept, prototype, and MVP (minimum viable product), it's essential to recognize that these stages represent distinct phases in the product development cycle, each serving a unique purpose.

POC

A proof of concept in product development is the earliest demonstration of your product idea. It’s created as a business case for why the idea deserves investment and how the product will fulfill the needs of consumers.

Prototype

On the other hand, a prototype demonstrates how to build the product and shows how the concept works in practice. A product may have multiple iterations of a prototype throughout the development process.

MVP

Finally, an MVP is the most refined and improved version of your prototype—the iteration you’re prepared to bring to the market. MVPs include only the basic features necessary for users to understand the product's core functionality and provide feedback. The final product will be developed based on the input your MVP receives.

Benefits of Proof of Concept in Product Development

When a business has a new idea for a product, it can be tempting to immediately invest time and resources into its development to accelerate the time to market.

However, haste and lack of due diligence present major risks. The product may not be viable under current market conditions. As part of the POC process, it's important to evaluate existing solutions to understand the competitive landscape and identify opportunities for differentiation.

A POC plays a crucial role in business development because it validates new ideas, reduces risk, and attracts investment. Furthermore, it assists in strategic product development.

• Confirm technical feasibility: Validates whether a new idea is achievable and helps determine if the idea makes sense before committing significant time and resources.
• Estimate costs and resource requirements: Provides a basis for estimating how much time and money are required to develop the product.
• Get stakeholder buy-in: Investors, management teams, and potential investors can be convinced by a proof of concept to support or approve a new idea.

Lastly, POCs uncover challenges, limitations, or bottlenecks that could hinder product development in later stages. This foresight offers a huge advantage to your business.

What Should You Include in Your Proof of Concept?

For starters, a good proof of concept communicates key details about your new product idea. It will lay out the steps you should take along the way and serve as a guide for design and assembly.

Additionally, there are many elements you should include in your POC, such as:

• A clearly defined objective: The specific question you are trying to answer, the customer pain points the idea addresses, and what the new idea seeks to accomplish.
• Criteria for success: Quantifiable metrics for determining whether the objective is met.
• Required resources: The minimum essential resources, including components, raw materials, and labor, that are required to isolate and test your assumptions.
• Design and assembly plans: Simplified or rough descriptions of your methods and process for developing the product, including how these plans fit into the overall product creation journey and transition into the manufacturing process once the design is finalized.
• Test environment and process: The setup and steps involved in testing the product and validating whether it will accomplish your objective.
• Method for measuring success: Your plan for capturing and analyzing data throughout the development process to measure progress against the success criteria, which can provide valuable insights for future development and inform strategic decisions.
• Scope and limitations: A broad summary of what your proof of concept is testing, what it isn’t trying to prove, and potential challenges in the development process. Including concept examples can help clarify the specific scenarios or applications being evaluated.

These are the components you’ll need to create your POC in product development. Together, they represent all the plans, inputs, and goals required to convince stakeholders of the viability and feasibility of your idea.

How to Create a Proof of Concept: Step-by-Step

Now, let’s build a strong proof of concept for your product development.

If you present a subpar POC to stakeholders, there’s a high risk of your idea being rejected. Follow these steps to create a proof of concept that has the highest chance of securing stakeholder buy-in.

1. Define Your Core Ideas & Objectives

Your POC should seek to answer a stakeholder's primary questions.

For example, “Will automated electronic windows increase the safety and security of our flagship motor vehicle?” The more specific, the better.

Pro-Tip: Use customer, competitor, and market research to explain in detail how your idea addresses customer pain points. Outline what your idea will accomplish in the long term, your plan for executing the idea, and the overall scope of the product.

2. Establish Success Criteria & KPIs

Next, clearly define the quantifiable metrics that will determine the success of your proof of concept. In other words, list the measurements that confirm whether your new idea has achieved its primary objective.

For example, if your objective is to increase the ROI of helicopter propellers, then your success criteria and KPIs should be financially focused:

• The new idea reduces propeller production costs by 12%.
• The new idea improves propeller sales by 20%.
• The new idea increases propeller profit margins by 25%.

In this case, three obvious KPIs are production costs, revenue attributable to propeller sales, and net profit.

3. Identify Your Resource Requirements

In this next step, list the baseline resource requirements to build and test your proof of concept. This ensures the proof of concept is solely focused on the core objective you’re trying to achieve.

There are several resources you should include in your POC:

• Raw materials
• Components
• Tools and equipment
• Labor and expertise
• Software and digital tools

POCs should be low-cost experiments for deciding whether the product goes forward. You don’t need to include all the resources required to produce the final product, or even an early prototype. Simply identify resources that are necessary to create a POC in product development.

4. Outline Testing & Development

After you identify resources, be sure to describe the process to create and validate your POC.

In the case of a physical product, this could include assembly instructions and physical testing conditions. For digital products, it may mean steps for setting up the system and your sandbox test environment. 

As part of the testing and validation process, creating prototypes is essential for visualizing and demonstrating the practical design, functionality, navigation, and layout of your product before moving to full development.

You don’t need to list every minor detail. What matters is that you cover the general process for building and testing your idea.

5. Build the Proof of Concept

Last, but not least, follow your guidelines to create a proof of concept model that you can present to relevant stakeholders and investors.

A POC can be developed as part of an existing product to validate new features or ideas within the current product scope, or it can be a standalone initiative. This may be a prototype-like design or a detailed report outlining how the idea will achieve your primary objective.

Gather Stakeholder Feedback & Iterate

When presenting your proof of concept to stakeholders, it should answer several key questions:

• Is it feasible to manufacture/develop this idea?
• What are the customer pain points this idea addresses, and how will it address them?
• What is the primary objective of this idea?
• How will we measure the success of this idea?
• What resources are required to successfully execute this idea?

Gathering feedback and iterating is a vital phase in the proof of concept (POC) process. Once your initial POC is developed, it’s essential for product managers to actively collect user feedback through methods such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups. This feedback provides valuable insights into how well the product idea addresses the needs of your target market and whether it meets the predefined success criteria.

Then, continuous iteration based on real-world input not only helps validate the proof of concept but also positions the product for greater success in later development stages. Ultimately, this process ensures that the final product is robust, market-ready, and capable of meeting the established success criteria.

Proof of Concept in Product Development: Best Practices

To maximize the effectiveness of your proof of concept, it’s important for product managers to follow best practices throughout the POC process. Start by defining clear and measurable success criteria that will guide your evaluation of the product strategy. 

Next, conduct thorough market research to understand the needs of your target audience and gather relevant data that will inform your approach. Finally, assess the technical feasibility of your proposed solution early on. Don’t continue with POCs that are not feasible.

By following these best practices, product managers can increase the chances of a successful proof of concept.

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Schedule a free demo today to see how Gocious helps product managers boost agility and lead the market.