Navigating Product Development: Understanding PoC, Prototype, and MVP for Beginners

This is a practical guide to help you define ‘prototype’ versus ‘proof of concept’ versus ‘minimum viable product’.

When building software products, it is important to define early enough the target output — in terms of both functionality and ‘production readiness’. Therefore, using the right terminology for your software project is critical since it sets the expectations with your stakeholders.

In the following section, I provide you with quick definitions and practical guidelines to help you communicate the proper term for your project.

Proof of concept — PoC

A Proof of concept (PoC) refers to the implementation of a certain method or idea using specific techniques. The objective is to assess and demonstrate its feasibility and confirm its practical potential.

For example, a proof-of-concept for a technology startup would need to demonstrate financial viability and its achievability in development given the available resources.

A PoC typically has a short life cycle. It is to decide if further investment is to be made or not. A PoC is typically not delivered to end-users ( or else it might be exposed to tons of feedback). After a successful proof of concept, a prototype may be developed which is then used to seek funding or to demonstrate to prospective customers.

Static Prototype (Wireframes)

Wireframes are visual guides representing the structure/layout of a website or an application that serves a particular purpose — as defined by a product concept. The objective is to provide early visualizations of potential user interfaces, thus setting the basis for quick iterations and product decisions.

Wireframes are great to help explain the concept and capture feedback from stakeholders. Feedback is then used to make decisions about the features, information architecture, user flows, and other aspects of the product. In some cases, high-fidelity wireframes are provided to give a great level of detail that is closer to an actual product in terms of look and feel.

Functional prototype

Functional prototypes are used early in the product development process for a short period of time. As soon as decisions are made to move on to product development, the functional prototype is expected to become obsolete. The functional prototype is typically a quick implementation of the most important functionality, typically only for demonstrations, discussions, and user testing.

The objectives of a functional prototype are to present a potentially complex idea in a realistic form to its target users and stakeholders while also capturing feedback that can empower better and faster product decisions early on.

Minimum Viable Product — MVP

In product development, the minimum viable product (MVP) is an implementation with just enough features to create value for real users and drive engagement. It provides ways to gather usage patterns and direct feedback from real users, thus enabling informed decisions regarding further product development.

The objective of MVP is to generate insights early enough and at a lower cost compared to a ‘complete product’. This allows for better decisions when in the middle stages of the development process.

In many cases, the term MVP is wrongly interchanged with PoC or Prototype. In contrast to both POC and Prototypes, the MVP has increased production readiness (exposed to real users/customers), while offering only a minimum subset of features to keep users engaged.

In summary, communicating the right project terms are important. Failure to define MVP, Prototype, and Proof of concept appropriately can result in bad stakeholders' experience.

Thank you for reading!