What is the C that you are trying to P?

Three little letters strike terror into the hearts of architects everywhere: P. O. C.

This seems strange. Surely in the age of digital transformation, innovation, and a willingness to fail fast, conducting proofs of concept is exactly what we should be doing. Why should architects be scared of POCs?

The reason is that, unfortunately, in large enterprises, many POCs are not POCs at all. Whether deliberately or accidentally, they stand little chance of proving a concept: in fact, it’s not even clear which C they are trying to P.

Let’s look at two types of POCs which standing little chance of P’ing a C: POCs in name only (let’s call them POCINOs) and POCs without concepts(let’s call them POCWOCs).