Should I report bugs during Proof of Concept stage?

Question

Have been working on a proof of concept project for a potential customer. If it is successful, we will get a 6 month worth of contract from them.

I have discovered two bugs during this proof of concept stage:

1. There are a few web elements on their HTML that are not actually used; in theory, un-used elements should be removed from HTML codes as codes should be kept as short as possible.
2. For Child and Infant passengers, Titles need to be selected as well. From a UAT point of view, it is unnecessary to select a Title to a child or an infant.

Should I report them to our customers right now?

Answer 1

My personal recommendation is to wait until you are formally engaged with them.

AND

Your discoveries are not really bugs, the first is a bad practice that may lead to bugs; while the second one is a not-so-appropriate business decision.

Answer 2

I would recommend that you ask the customer. Tell them that you have a couple of observations and ask if they would like to hear about them. If they are evaluating your ability to add value, sharing this information should be viewed as positive.

Answer 3

I would approach this as though I already had the contract signed.

Although this isn't technically the requirements phase, anomalies or defects found at this stage are critical because they can modify an entire flow or process. For that reason, I would document the issues found (in whatever format makes sense, such as an Excel spreadsheet, or simply a bullet point in an e-mail, or if screenshots are involved then a document with step-by-step explanations and screenshots). Then I'd share them with the customer as a "by the way, I noticed..." informative e-mail.

Even if you don't get the job, you want the negotiations to end on a positive note. If I were the customer, I would appreciate any heads up toward improving the design.