There is a difference between a Proof of Concept and exploration. Both are valuable, but I offer this challenge:

When you say “POC”, what is the Concept you’re trying to Prove?

I remember junior high geometry, which I both enjoyed and did not enjoy. There is a problem I need to solve, a set of conditions I need to understand and consider, and there are steps I need to think about and execute. At the end, I get the right answer. I am supposed to write “QED”.

But I’m also graded on how I got there. I have to show my work. “I got it to work” doesn’t count.

Exploration is Valuable

If you don’t have a clear view of the problem, and there is no clear process to understand and address the problem, I suggest that you actually have two problems. By the way, “clear” should include “written down and effectively communicated” so that clarity can be shared and maintained.

Exploring a product or a solution can be informative (and a lot of fun!), but this can lock a team into thinking the solutions that product provides are the same as the problems you’re trying to solve. Could be, but that’s backwards.

Write Things Down

To get started, grab a couple of dry erase markers. What is the problem, what does it look like when the problem is solved, and what additional downstream benefits can you expect? When you’re done, don’t forget to write it down and put it in a trusted and shared place.

Finally, and this part is really important: As you proceed with your POC, write down your POC activities, day to day, even the roadblocks and failed experiments. You’ll want to know how you got to a place, and you might have to backtrack.