Proof Of Concept

• The aim of Proof of Concept is to evaluate and verify that a proposed solution / idea to an understood problem is feasible and viable.
• POC is just a prototype and doesn't represent the deliverable so it's often developed quickly and without a lot of testing

When?
It's done at the beginning or maybe in the middle of developing a software.

Who?
It's provided by the developer or architect and presented for the client.

What involved?

• Estimated development costs
• Estimated maintenance costs
• The proposed technical design
• Technologies to be used
• If the proposed solution is a website, POC would be a facade that illustrates the look and feel of the site with no functionality e.g. using html, photshop ...

Why bother?

• To understand the requirements clearly before it's too late (arguably...)
• To assess the design decisions early in the process
• Client to be able to visualize early on the look-and-feel of the solution.
• To reduce the risk of project failure by getting feedback early

Software Development Methodology

POC is highly important in Waterfall model where the software is not developed in an incremental way. Other methodologies such as Scrum and XP provide deliverables after the end of each iterations and over time incrementally.

Wireframe:

• Visio has a Stencil for Sketching GUI: http://abbett.org/resources/SketchGUIShapes.zip
• Visio 2010 also has a "wireframe diagram" template built-in
• http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?GuiPrototypingTools
• http://balsamiq.com/products/mockups
• http://creately.com/Online-UI-Mockups-and-Wireframes

More reading:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc168618.aspx
• http://www.evancarmichael.com/Productivity/3235/12-Steps-to-a-Successful-Proof-of-Concept--Part-1.html