What is a POC and why it does not prove what you think

A POC, proof of concept, is a limited test to verify whether a technical approach is feasible. It is not the same as a pilot. The POC proves the technology can do it. The pilot proves the operation captures value from it.

The distance between the two is where the money lives. A POC that “worked” says the machine can, not that your operation will adopt it.

How it should be measured

An honest POC has a pass criterion written before it starts. Above this accuracy in the worst real condition, against this cost of the current alternative, it passes. Below, it fails, and failing is a valid result.

Most POCs have no such criterion. They run, look good in the room, and “it worked” becomes an opinion, not a measure.

What the number hides

A POC with no criterion proves enthusiasm, not feasibility. It shows the best case, on clean data, in a controlled condition. The operation is the worst case, on dirty data, on a busy Tuesday.

Between the POC that dazzles and the production that delivers there is a gulf, and that is where most AI projects fall. The POC proved it could; nobody proved it would reach the operation.

Why this changes an AI project

The POC is only worth it if the pass criterion is the operational one, measured on the truth of the operation, not on lab accuracy. It is the same discipline as the shelf vision POC: the right metric is accuracy in the worst aisle condition, not in the best photo.

Defining that criterion before running is what separates the POC that becomes a project from the POC that becomes a filed slide.

Think about the term your operation uses but treats as a synonym for success. “The POC worked” is usually that phrase. Worked at what, measured how, against which alternative?

Tell me which POC is on your desk. In one hour I will send back a one-page card: what it proves and what it does not, the missing pass criterion, and what changes between it and production. If the card shows the criterion has to be written before continuing, the two-week Diagnóstico is the next step.