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Demo Review Meeting

Purpose: Validate the demo with the customer and decide go/no-go for a sprint.

When to use: After building a 1-day demo. Before committing to POC v1.

Inputs Required

  • Working demo
  • Original demo spec (for reference)
  • 30 minutes of customer time

Agenda

1. Recap Hypothesis (2 min)

"Last time we talked, you mentioned [problem]. We built something to test whether [hypothesis]. Let me show you."

2. Live Demo (10 min)

Show, don't tell. Walk through the core functionality. Keep it focused—this is not a feature tour.

Let them interrupt with questions. That's signal.

3. Discussion (15 min)

Key questions to ask:

  • "Does this solve the problem you described?"
  • "What's missing that would make this useful?"
  • "Would you use this tomorrow if it existed?"
  • "What would break for you if we built this the wrong way?"

4. Decision (5 min)

Be explicit. Ask: "Should we proceed to building a real version of this?"

If yes: Define scope for POC v1. Set expectations (3 days, synthetic data, rough edges).

If no: That's fine. Document what we learned. Move on.

Outputs

  • Go/no-go decision
  • If go: Initial requirements for POC v1
  • If no-go: Documented learnings (what was wrong about the hypothesis?)

Tips

  • Don't apologize for rough edges. It's a demo. That's the point.
  • "Do you want more of this?" is the only question that matters.
  • Watch for polite enthusiasm vs. actual enthusiasm. "That's cool" ≠ "I need this."
  • If they start asking detailed implementation questions, that's a good sign.
  • If they start listing other problems they have, stay focused. One thing at a time.

Next: POC v1 Playbook (if proceeding)