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4 Reasons You Should Never Use Proof of Concepts in Production
Why your mini-masterpiece should never see the light of day

I have never met a developer who doesn’t like building proof of concepts (POCs). The chance to build something new from scratch to test a theory/process/technology… I get excited just thinking about it.
There’s something about them that gets your creative juices flowing. Maybe it’s that you don’t have any constraints. Maybe it’s just the thrill of greenfield development. Whatever it is, developers like it.
Part of the appeal of building proof of concepts is the wide variety of use cases. You can build a POC for anything! Whether you want to build something funny, teach somebody about an unfamiliar concept, build an idea for a business, or learn how to use a new technology to solve a problem, you have countless options.
But be careful with your expectations. Time and time again, I’ve seen developers asked to just put their POC into production. Don’t do that!
A proof of concept is just that — a concept. It’s not a production workhorse that adheres to best practices, established patterns, and dev processes. It is a tool to convey an idea in a short amount of time.