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Kostiantyn Boskin
Kostiantyn Boskin

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MVP vs PoC. Explaining difference

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

When it comes to their purpose, MVPs are generally designed to be more comprehensive and appeal to a broader audience, while POCs are geared towards a more specific group of people. MVPs are typically developed with the goal of being released to customers, while POCs are created to be used within the company.

Regarding their target audience, MVPs aim to attract early adopters and customers, while POCs are primarily intended for internal teams and stakeholders. The purpose of MVPs is to gather feedback and assess the viability of a product idea, while POCs are created to demonstrate the practicality of a specific technology or concept to those within the organization.

By the way, we have written an interesting article about MVP development vs PoC development article, so you are welcome to read

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.

CloudFlex - Software MVP development

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