Introduction
In the software development world, two terms that are often used to describe early-stage products are Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and Proof of Concept (POC). While both terms refer to early-stage products, they have distinct differences in terms of their purpose, scope, and intended audience.
MVP
A Minimum Viable Product development, or MVP dev, is development of the product that has the minimum set of features necessary to attract early adopters and validate a product idea. The main goal of an MVP is to test the product's feasibility and market fit by gathering feedback from early adopters and making necessary adjustments before investing further resources into the product. An MVP typically has a small set of features that are essential to the product's core functionality and is often released as soon as possible to gather feedback.
PoC
Proof of Concept, or POC, is a product that is built to demonstrate the feasibility of a particular idea or technology. The main goal of a POC is to provide evidence that a particular concept or technology can be implemented, and that it works as intended. A POC is typically a small-scale version of the final product that is built to test a specific feature or concept. Unlike an MVP, a POC is not intended to be released to customers and is only used internally to validate a particular technology or concept.
Scope, Audience
In terms of scope, MVPs are typically broader in scope and intended for a wider audience, while POCs are more focused and intended for a specific audience. MVPs are typically built to be released to customers, while POCs are built to be used internally.
In terms of audience, MVPs are intended for early adopters and customers, while POCs are intended for stakeholders and internal teams. MVPs are built to gather feedback from early adopters and validate product ideas, while POCs are built to demonstrate the feasibility of a particular technology or concept to internal teams and stakeholders.
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Summary
In summary, MVPs and POCs are both early-stage products that are used to validate product ideas and technologies, but they have distinct differences in terms of their purpose, scope, and intended audience. MVPs are built to gather feedback from early adopters and validate product ideas, while POCs are built to demonstrate the feasibility of a particular technology or concept to internal teams and stakeholders.