Many digital projects die beautifully on stage: impressive demo, applause, then silence — because nobody defined what happens next. PoC (Proof of Concept) and MVP (Minimum Viable Product) exist to replace hope with evidence. At UNICORE we use them in custom software to cut risk before the big investment — and in consulting to choose what is worth building.
PoC, briefly. It answers: “Is it technically / legally / with our data possible?” Example: can we connect ERP X to the portal in 2 weeks? Can we extract a document type with acceptable OCR? A PoC is narrow, relatively cheap, and disposable. Success is evidence — not a pretty product.
MVP, briefly. It answers: “Do real people use this and solve a measurable pain?” An MVP is the smallest product that delivers value — not “half of every feature.” Example: an online complaints flow with status, not the entire city-hall portal. Success is usage, time saved, conversion — not slides.
PoC ≠ MVP ≠ sales demo. A sales demo shows potential (often with fake data and buttons that “will work”). A PoC proves a technical hypothesis. An MVP proves a business hypothesis with real users. Confusing the three produces the “demo that dies”: looks good, is not maintained, not measured, has no owner.
How to avoid the demo that dies. (1) Write the hypothesis in one sentence. (2) Define the success criterion first (measurable yes/no). (3) Decide what happens if YES (budget, team, timeline) and if NO (stop without drama). (4) Do not turn a PoC into a “secret product” without security, backup, and maintenance. (5) Assign a business owner — not only IT.
Duration and budget, realistically. A good PoC is often days to a few weeks, with aggressively cut scope. An MVP is weeks to a few months, with one complete flow (not only UI). If the “MVP” has an 18-month roadmap, it is not an MVP — it is a full project in disguise.
What you keep after a PoC/MVP. Useful code, lessons, metrics, the decision document. Do not necessarily keep overnight hacks as the production base — sometimes it is cheaper to rebuild cleanly once you know the idea is worth it. Production quality comes after evidence, not before.
Conclusion. A PoC proves it is possible; an MVP proves it is worth it. A pretty demo without hypothesis, metric, and after-plan is expensive theatre. If you want to structure a PoC or MVP without locking a year of budget, contact us.