Proof of Concept Purgatory

product strategy execution

You know the pattern. Someone builds a demo. Stakeholders love it. “This is exactly what we need!” Smiles all around. Then nothing happens.

Six months later, the demo is still a demo. The excitement has faded. The champion has moved on. The PowerPoint lives in a shared drive, gathering digital dust.

Welcome to Proof of Concept Purgatory.

How Projects Get Stuck

POC Purgatory isn’t about bad ideas. The ideas are often good—that’s why they got funded in the first place. The trap is structural.

The demo solves a problem that isn’t painful enough. Leadership likes the concept but won’t prioritize it over fires. The POC proves “interesting,” not “urgent.”

Success criteria were never defined. The POC “worked” but nobody agreed what “worked” meant. Without a clear win condition, there’s no forcing function to move forward.

The path to production was never mapped. The demo was built with duct tape and good intentions. Productionizing it requires a rewrite, and nobody budgeted for that.

The champion left. POCs often depend on one believer pushing the rock uphill. When they move to a new role, the rock rolls back down.

The Warning Signs

You’re in Purgatory if:

  • The POC has been “almost ready” for more than one quarter
  • You keep adding features to the demo instead of shipping it
  • Stakeholder meetings are about showing progress, not making decisions
  • The original problem has evolved but the POC hasn’t
  • Nobody can name the single person accountable for production

How to Escape

1. Define the kill criteria before you start.

What would prove this idea is not worth pursuing? If you can’t fail, you can’t succeed. A POC without kill criteria is just a hobby.

2. Timebox ruthlessly.

30 days. 60 max. If you can’t prove the concept in that window, either the concept is too big or you’re boiling the ocean. Descope and try again.

3. Build the ugly version that works.

Demos that look polished invite feature requests. Demos that look scrappy but do the thing invite deployment conversations. Optimize for function, not aesthetics.

4. Name the path to production on day one.

Before writing any code, answer: who will own this in production? What’s the deployment target? What’s the support model? If these questions don’t have answers, you’re building a science project.

5. Force a decision.

At the end of the timebox, present two options: productionize or kill. “Keep exploring” is not an option. Ambiguity is where POCs go to die.

The Deeper Problem

POC Purgatory exists because organizations are better at starting things than finishing them. Starting is exciting. Finishing is grinding.

Every POC in Purgatory represents sunk cost, distracted attention, and opportunity cost. The graveyard of almost-shipped demos is expensive.

The best teams I’ve worked with treat POCs like triage. Prove it fast. Decide fast. Move on.

If your POC is older than a quarter and still not in production, it’s time for an honest conversation. Either find the path forward or give it a proper burial.

Purgatory isn’t a strategy.