3 Lessons From "Proof of Concept" Projects From Our Customers in The Building Industry
The building industry is an incredible, massive, and dynamic sector -- $1.4 trillion is spent annually in the US on construction projects. After supply and worker shortages and COVID-19, the sector is showing promising signs of growth.
At Threekit we are lucky to work with some of the most discerning and building and building materials companies. Companies like Kohler, Ulrich Barns, Saphire Balconies, Abodu and Modulaire Group/Algeco choose Threekit to power incredible experiences for customers and to power efficiency on the back end.
A common refrain we hear from customers is "how about we start with a proof of concept (POC)?" So, today we wanted to share our top 3 learnings from working with leaders in the Building industry:
1) There is a TON of work (and costs) to get your requirements set - Yes, even for a POC, when you're working with another (non Threekit) partner, they will need you to outline everything. This may sound simple at the outset, but almost always it is much more in depth.
We have seen the process of outlining everything - even for a POC - surpass the entire full project budget with Threekit.
2) Requirements change - We have yet to do a project across and of our hundreds of customers, where requirements don't change. That's the incredible thing about creating visual experiences - your team learns and adapts to meet customer expectations.
Unfortunately, in a POC, or agency only project, when requirements change, everything often needs to start back at square one or the changes just don't make it in.
3) You don't get the results you want - when the costs are higher than you planned and the POC gets to market late and doesn't exactly have all the functionality you thought you needed, it shouldn't be a surprise that most POC projects aren't loved by your end customer.
POC's often have that feeling of "just right". Theoretically, it's a way to test the waters before jumping in.
The challenge is that almost always, the work of creating a solid visual expeirence - even if it seems basic - is more challenging that it seems. It takes more time and money than you think to outline the project, the requirements will change (causing delays and more cost), and ultimately you won't deliver a quality experience that delivers the results you were wanting.
Checkout a few of our building goods customers at Shop Threekit