Planning And Scoping A Proof Of Concept For Your Customers

A proof of concept (POC) is a small, isolated example product that is created in a vacuum. Essentially, it’s a technical showcase of your organization’s capabilities and potential, demonstrating that you can actually perform the tasks that you’ve laid out on paper.

POCs tend to be expensive to create, and since they don’t actually have any use beyond demonstration they might be seen as a waste of time and resources by some. That’s not to say that they don’t have their place, just that they should be a final solution if you have no other ways to prove to your customers that you’re able to produce the solution they desire. 

It can be tricky to know when to produce a POC and when to avoid them, but luckily there are a few guidelines you can follow on that topic.

The Dos & Don'ts Of POCs

Since POCs are incredibly time-consuming and expensive and produce relatively little value, there’s a simple solution - don’t use them! Well, at least not unless you have to. There are a myriad of alternative options to POCs that you can try first, including demos (customized or not) and customer trials. These are less time-intensive and can likely be re-used in future, meaning their value for time and money invested is much higher. 

Takeaway - use a POC only when all other options have been exhausted.

The other golden rule you should follow is this - don’t offer POCs, make customers ask you for them. If a customer needs a POC they should ask for one, and by doing so they show you that they’re invested in your organization and the solutions you can provide. Offering them to anyone who comes into contact with you is a terrible idea, and will have very little impact overall on your sales figures.

Scoping Out A POC: The Steps

A POC is a big investment for you. There’s nothing worse than designing, producing and presenting a POC only for it to not be what the customer wanted. 

In order to not waste your time and theirs, you need to scope out the POC and define it in order to get the most precise representation of the solution your customer needs. Below you’ll find the steps necessary to do this.

1. Timeboxing
   Begin by defining the start and end dates or your POC. When you have a timeframe it’s much easier to define the possible features that you can put into your POC, with the customer being informed of exactly what to expect if they want a rushed job.
   Defining your timeframe also helps with resource planning. A quick job can only be done with resources currently available, whereas a POC with a longer time frame can use resources you don’t immediately have access to.

2. Obtain Customer Commitment
   Getting resources from your customer means that you don’t have to use those resources yourself. And really, if the customer is the one asking for the POC it’s not out of line to ask them to commit resources to its creation. 
   Obtaining resources from your customer will not only lower your initial costs, but ensure that the customer is more dedicated to purchase. You may have heard the phrase “in for a penny, in for a dollar”. People don’t like wasted resources and are much more likely to follow through if they’ve made an investment.

3. Assess Your Customer’s Goals
   If you’ve done an analysis of your customer’s needs, you’ll already know what you need to do. The idea is to tackle the root causes of their problems, the “pain points” that they are unable to tackle themselves. The pain points can also be defined by the discovery process, whereby you create a solution based on questions you ask the customer and the insights these provide. This is where Guidde’s video capture really shines, allowing you to view firsthand the problems that your client is having and glean insight into why these might exist.

4. Define POC Goals
   The goal of your POC will depend on the particulars of your customer’s problem, but in general you can define the goal to be “being better than the current process”. 
   How much better is the key question here, with diminishing returns meaning that at a certain point it isn’t worth it to improve the process any further. It’s ultimately up to you - use your judgment and the request the customer has provided you with to draw the line.

5. Define POC Success Criteria
   A POC is theoretically successful if it achieves its goal of being better than the current method. However, that’s not very useful when you’re trying to analyze it. Whatever the criteria you’re looking at - processing speed, amount of data handled, etc. - you need to choose a measurable value for that metric to define as successful. 
   For instance, if a process currently takes 10 minutes to do without your software, anything under 9 minutes 59 seconds is technically a superior process, but your customers definitely won’t see it that way! In this case defining success as taking 5 minutes or less to complete the process is much more reasonable. 

6. Create An Execution Plan
   Once you know what to do, you need to create a plan of how to do it. By working backwards from the idealized finished product, you can create a series of steps which will need to be completed in order for the POC to be made. Assign these tasks to those who can fulfill them, with due dates, expected content etc.

7. Define Technical Prerequisites
   Sometimes you’ll need access to your customers’ data in order to run it through your POC and check that it’s working. Whether that’s because you need to know their syntax, how their data is stored etc. it’s necessary to secure access to that data ahead of time in order to avoid delays.

The Aftermath

Once a POC has been completed, it’s up to your customer to decide whether or not they want to purchase your services. A POC is defined as successful from a sales standpoint if it results in a purchase, furthering the sales process. If you plan your POC well, you’ll see more successful pitches and more revenue. 

A customer will only purchase if you meet their needs, and information on their problems is what you need to solve them. Plan, plan and plan again as more information becomes available before you even start the process of creating a POC. Never let anything remain vague and you’ll fit their criteria as best as it can be done.

How We Can Help

Here at Guidde, we pride ourselves on helping you share knowledge through video. Not only can you use our platform during the initial communication stages for more detailed information, you can also upload demos, communicate plans and get access to the data that you need from your client.

The greatest strength of Guidde, however, is in the visual information we provide. Proof of concepts are designed to solve problems, and what better way is there to solve a problem than to see it first hand for yourself? By using our platform to share first person perspectives on their issues, your customers will provide you with the information you need the first time, rather than needing to talk in circles around the problems they’re having.

Guidde’s recorder tools can easily be used to capture from a screen, our transformation features let you upload a pre-existing video and easily transform it into a useful form, and more! On top of that, our Spaces feature means that you can easily share the information with those who need it, such as your dev team and management.

In just the same way, your team can share progress with the client easily, keeping them updated on roadblocks, unexpected coding interactions etc. All this can be done in an instant, allowing for two way communication that keeps everyone in the loop! If you run into issues your client will want to know, and with the first person video capabilities they will be able to see if said issue will affect the way their operations function or not.

What are you waiting for? Join Guidde today to spread knowledge and context that will keep your POCs running smoothly and on point!

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