A proof of concept (POC) or a proof of principle is a realization of a certain method or idea(s) to demonstrate its feasibility,[1] or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory has the potential of being used. A proof-of-concept is usually small and may or may not be complete.
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[edit] Usage history
The appearance of the terms in news archives suggests it might have been in common use as long ago as 1973.[2]
One of the early definitions of the term "proof of concept" was by Bruce Carsten in the context of a "proof of concept prototype" in the column "Carsten's Corner":
Proof-of-Concept Prototype is a term that (I believe) I coined in 1984. It was used to designate a circuit constructed along lines similar to an engineering prototype, but one in which the intent was only to demonstrate the feasibility of a new circuit and/or a fabrication technique, and was not intended to be an early version of a production design. [3]
The column also provided definitions for the related but distinct terms 'breadboard', 'prototype', 'engineering prototype', and 'brassboard'.
[edit] Examples
[edit] In filmmaking
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, 300, and Sin City were all shot in front of a greenscreen with almost all backgrounds and props computer generated. All three used proof of concept short films.
Pixar sometimes creates short animated films that use a difficult or untested technique. Their short film Geri's Game used techniques for animation of cloth and of human facial expressions later used in Toy Story 2. Similarly, Pixar created several short films as proofs of concept for new techniques for water motion, sea anemone tentacles, and a slowly appearing whale in preparation for the production of Finding Nemo.
[edit] In Engineering
In engineering and technology, a rough prototype of a new idea is often constructed as a "proof of concept". For example, a working concept of an electrical device may be constructed using a breadboard. A patent application often requires a demonstration of functionality prior to being filed. Some universities have proof of concept centers to "fill the 'funding gap'" for "seed-stage investing" and "accelerate the commercialization of university innovations". Proof of concept centers provide "seed funding to novel, early stage research that most often would not be funded by any other conventional source".[4]
[edit] In Business Development
In the field of business development and sales, a vendor may allow a prospect customer to trial the software product. This use of proof of concept helps establish viability, technical issues, and overall direction, as well as providing feedback for budgeting and other forms of internal decision making processes.
In these cases, the proof of concept may mean specialized sales engineers will be utilized to ensure that the vendor makes a best possible effort.
[edit] In security
In both computer security and encryption, proof of concept refers to a demonstration that in principle shows how a system may be protected or compromised, without the necessity of building a complete working vehicle for that purpose. Winzapper was a proof of concept which possessed the bare minimum of capabilities needed to selectively remove an item from the Windows Security Log; but, it was not optimized in any way.
[edit] In software development
In software development, proof of concept (abbreviated POC) is often used to describe several distinct processes with different objectives and participant roles:
- A proof of concept can refer to a partial solution that involves a relatively small number of users acting in business roles to establish whether the system satisfies some aspect of the requirements.
- A steel thread is a technical proof of concept that touches all of the technologies in a solution.
- By contrast, the objective of a proof of technology is to determine the solution to some technical problem, such as how two systems might be integrated or that a certain throughput can be achieved with a given configuration. No business users need be involved in a proof of technology.
- A pilot project refers to an initial roll out of a system into production, targeting a limited scope of the intended final solution. The scope may be limited by the number of users who can access the system, the business processes affected, the business partners involved, or other restrictions as appropriate to the domain. The purpose of a pilot project is to test, often in a production environment, whether the system is working as it was designed while limiting business exposure.
[edit] In drug development
Although not suggested by natural language, and in contrast to usage in other areas, Proof of Principle and Proof of Concept are not synonymous in drug development. A third term, Proof of Mechanism, is closely related and is also described here. All of these terms lack rigorous definitions and exact usage varies between authors, between institutions and over time. The descriptions given below are intended to be informative and practically useful.
The underlying principle is related to the use of biomarkers as surrogate endpoints in early clinical trials. See for example the introductory discussion on pages 3 to 9 of Downing's Biomarkers and surrogate endpoints: clinical research and applications.[5] In early development it is not practical to directly measure that a drug is effective in treating the desired disease, and a surrogate endpoint is used to guide whether or not it is appropriate to proceed with further testing. For example, although it cannot be determined early that a new antibiotic cures patients with pneumonia, early indicators would include that the drug is effective in killing bacteria in laboratory tests, or that it reduces temperature in infected patients - such a drug would merit further testing to determine the appropriate dose and duration of treatment. A new antihypertension drug could be shown to reduce blood presssure, indicating that it would be useful to conduct more extensive testing of long-term treatment in the expectation of showing reductions in stroke (cerebrovascular accident) or heart attack (myocardial infarction). Surrogate endpoints are often based on laboratory blood tests or imaging investigations like X-ray or CT scan.
Proof of Mechanism or PoM relates to the earliest stages of drug development, often pre-clinical (ie, before the drug is given to humans, or before given to research animals). It could be based on showing that the drug interacts with the intended molecular receptor or enzyme, and/or affects cell biochemistry in the desired manner and direction.
A decision is made at this point as to whether to progress the drug into later development, or if it should be dropped.
Proof of Concept or PoC refers to early clinical drug development, conventionally divided into Phase I and Phase IIa.
Phase I is typically conducted in 10-20 healthy volunteers who are given single doses or short courses of treatment (eg, up to 2 weeks). Studies in this Phase aim to show that the new drug has some of the desired clinical activity (eg, that an experimental antihypertensive drug actually has some effect on reducing blood pressure), that it can be tolerated when given to humans, and to give guidance as to dose levels that are worthy of further study. Other Phase I studies aim to investigate how the new drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolised and excreted (so-called ADME studies).
Phase IIa is typically conducted in up to 100 patients with the disease of interest. Studies in this Phase aim to show that the new drug has a useful amount of the desired clinical activity (eg, that an experimental antihypertensive drug reduces blood pressure by a useful amount), that it can be tolerated when given to humans in the longer term, and to investigate which dose levels might be most suitable for eventual marketing.
A decision is made at this point as to whether to progress the drug into later development, or if it should be dropped.
Proof of Principle or PoP relates to later clinical development, Phase III, typically involving larger numbers of patients treated at doses and durations representative of marketed use, and in randomised comparison to placebo and/or existing active drugs. They aim to show convincing, statistically significant evidence of efficacy and to give a better assessment of safety than is possible in smaller, short term studies.
A decision is made at this point as to whether the drug is effective and safe, and if so an application is made to regulatory authorities (such as the US Food and Drug Administration [FDA] and the European Medicines Agency) for the drug to receive permission to be marketed for use outside of clinical trials.
Clinical trials can continue after marketing authorisation has been received, for example to better delineate safety, to determine appropriate use alongside other drugs or to investigate additional uses.
[edit] See also
- Case study
- Concept vehicle
- Feasibility study
- Prototype
- Sanity testing
- Technology readiness level
- An example: Template:Wikibooks-poc
[edit] References
- ^ Investorwords.com
- ^ News.google.com
- ^ Carsten, Bruce. Carsten's Corner. Power Conversion and Intelligent Motion, November 1989, 38
- ^ http://www.kauffman.org/uploadedFiles/POC_Centers_01242008.pdf
- ^ Downing, Gregory (2000). Biomarkers and surrogate endpoints: clinical research and applications. Elsevier. ISBN 0444503161. http://books.google.com/books?id=QrN_TCCHJOQC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=surrogate+endpoint+%22proof+of+concept%22#v=onepage&q=surrogate%20endpoint%20%22proof%20of%20concept%22&f=false.
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POC，是Proof of Concept的缩写，意思是为观点提供证据，它是一套建议的电子模型，它可用于论证团队和客户的设计，允许评估和确认概念设计方案，POC的评价可能引起规格和设计的调整。
1、POC的概念 POC，是Proof of Concept的缩写，意思是为观点提供证据，它是一套建议的电子模型，它可用于论证团队和客户的设计，允许评估和确认概念设计方案，POC的评价可能引起规格和设计的调整。POC流程所产生的关于设计的承诺、大家都认可的意见都将记录在设计的调整文档中，以备查。这样下去，POC不断发展。 如果在完成这些任务时需要帮助，可以在Queensland大学找到协助资源。 2、POC的开发。POC的开发步骤及方法如下： 第一步，开发包含所有基本导航特征(按纽，图标、菜单等)的界面模型，但不是最终的完美形式。 第二步，给界面添加少量内容，尤其是在至关重要的媒体中添加一到两个样本。例如，如果套装软件包非常依赖3D模型，就应该添加一个包含驱动所必须的3D模型样本。如果软件包需要显示数据符号和表格，那么有关数据符号和表格的样本也应添加上。 请注意，这个过程应该用于支持论证和验证设计，而并不是软件包开发的实际开端。你应该尽力去论证和销售设计，但也不要太过分，因为设计过程中有时需要作重大的修改，这样将导致浪费大量的资源。 3、POC的评价和验证。评价和验证过程就是寻求风险承担者通过POC和备案设计文档的反馈。通过POC评价，风险承担者可能提出调整规格和设计的要求。 有时，由于设计存在的缺陷或不适当的地方，设计团队就可能只好回到绘图板。客户可能决定停止设计或寻找其他团队，这是因为设计没有足够地关注客户和使用者的需求，或者是因为客户需求的不稳定性。有时这种改变是由客户组织或者项目决策者所引起的。 通常，在评价和验证过程结束时，有关设计的承诺、大家都认可的意见都将记录在备案的设计文档中，这往往是产品开发的生命周期中一个重要的里程碑。在结束评价和验证之后，POC就可继续发展。 4、最小化的需求。尽管POC是产品开发过程中重要的评估技术，但是你也应该限制在POC开发方面所花费的时间，考虑到早先的设计阶段包含的所有因素，构建POC中关键元素。 应该把充足的精力用于论证和认同设计方面，但也不要过多，这样即使设计中需要作重大的修改，也不会导致浪费大量的资源。 在全面设计开始执行之前，让客户对设计认可是必要的。 5、客户的角色定位。规格和设计阶段，要求产品开发有详细的设计文档，而且POC常伴随着产品开发。客户签署设计文档中，并反馈POC是重要的项目里程碑。如果在下一阶段仍需修改产品设计，就要按照受控的变更控制流程得到认可和批准。在整个项目过程中处理不同的检查和停顿时，客户的一个重要职责是为按期交付而保证已确认的进度表，并同意为防止计划被耽搁而需再投资的情况出现。
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