A large percentage of startups fail and one of the reasons for this is not knowing the real demand for their product or service. In most cases, companies choose to go straight to the product design and development phase without first analysing other factors. It is in these phases that the proof of concept in app development takes on great importance.
When is a proof of concept needed?
When a product is launched on the market, there are usually two assumptions:
- Or it is a similar app that is already on the market.
- On the contrary, it is a completely innovative product.
In the first case, in order to stand out from the competition, it is necessary to include novel functionalities that attract attention in the market. It is in the latter case that a proof of concept is needed before developing a project that is untested or not well accepted in the market.
What is a proof of concept in app development?
It allows to verify that the software idea is feasible In other words, it is about proving that an app can work in real life as we had imagined it.
Proof of concept should be carried out before starting design and development and is mainly based on understanding whether our project can be feasible with the minimum possible investment. Sometimes, proof of concept involves a rudimentary implementation to verify its feasibility.
Depending on the nature of the project, a proof of concept may be sufficient in the form of a tecohnical dcument. However, if it is a more complex project, as mentioned above, a basic demo. may be necessary.
At this point, it would not be necessary to invest in either code development or design, but the technical specifications need to be clarified.
What is the difference between proof of concept, prototype and MVP?
In the previous blog post we explained in more detail what MVP is. However, let us define these three concepts because they can be confusing to each other.
Proof of concept
In this case, it is essential to check the technical viability of the solution and serves to understand the functioning of the project. It is essential to define a clear and defined objective and its achievement will help us to build the desired solution.
We can define the PoC as the evidence that investors need for the development of the project.
Prototype
The emphasis here is on understanding the design and interaction with the product.. The development of a prototype helps us to have a dynamic design of the app and to have a basic idea of what it is about.
The result is an app that demonstrates what it can do. The main difference with Proof of Concept is that the investment can be reused when the design stage is reached.
Minimum Viable Product
Finally, the MVP consists of building a version of the product that meets the user’s needs. In the MVP the objective is to create a product that is sufficiently developed to receive feedback from the market.
In the latter case, the product is launched for testing and must have the essential functionalities.
What are the advantages of validating the App with Proof of Concept?
Among the advantages of carrying out the Proof of Concept we can highlight the following:
Ensuring feasibility before launch
The main objective of PoC is to demonstrate technically that the test is feasible and can be carried out. It will indicate the correct technical direction to achieve this and the external factors needed to do so will be analysed at this stage.
Understanding the product
It provides a better understanding of how the project would work. It will help us to understand the limitations and advantages of the App and help us to prioritise the functionalities.
Reducing risk
The proof of concept will give us sufficient confidence as a first step before we go ahead with the development of the idea. It will help to understand costs, feasibility and will help to reduce the risk of failure for investors.
In summary, we can say that proof of concept la prueba de concepto is necessary to demostrate that the idea is viableidea es viable and worksbefore starting to invest in design and development.
At Yapiko we always advise you to carry out a proof of concept before executing any App development in order to make the necessary modifications without investing more resources than necessary.
