You probably arrive at this article after asking about the discovery phase service for software development. In this article, we give an overview of the main deliverables that accompany our discovery phase. And most likely this material will help in your project.
Why a discovery phase?
In a word, the discovery phase is a highly planned series of activities and courses designed to set you up for success in the development phase. The discovery phase ensures that the solution developed will tackle the correct problem. This solution has the potential to have a significant influence on your industry as well as your bottom line. And here we illustrate here the course of the discovery phase.
Understand the project requirements and challenges for the business
The “Understanding” is the first step in our discovery phase. Above all, the essential is to discover what the demands of the end users are and to comprehend the obstacles for the firm as well as the goals it wishes to achieve.
Also, at this stage, you should go through the following steps:
- in-depth examination of the client’s paperwork;
- thoroughly examine the client’s documents;
- undertake a competitive benchmarking exercise;
- provide resources, activities, and workshop questions.
This stage’s primary purpose is to obtain a 360° perspective of the situation “before,” in order to detect any blind spots from the start. For example, you may do an in-depth competition study to gain a deeper understanding of the industry as a whole, in addition to our client’s experience.
Define the problem with key project stakeholders
A person who has an icon idea
In general, at the second stage, you can plan a series of events for the project’s primary stakeholders in order to identify the issue that the product must answer, and it guarantees that all interested parties adhere to the project. At this stage, there may be the following actions:
- Icebreaker Activity – A necessary stage for participants to get to know one another and feel at ease participating in the seminars.
- Flash Talks – Brief presentations that help us better comprehend the issues.
- How could we possibly…? – Each participant is asked to take notes on a tiny piece of self-adhesive paper during the flash lectures. This strategy guarantees that you fully assess the problem rather than jumping right into solution mode. It provides the path for new and creative solutions.
Sketch out a wide range of ideas and then retain one
The second stage ends with the sketch and decision stages. During this part of the discovery phase, our team helps workshop participants present their ideas and then proceed to the vote. At the end of this step, a solution is defined and sketched.
Once participants have chosen a solution, you can draw up a list of functions, which you can prioritize for the next step.
For example, after redefining your vision and mission in the previous step, you can take out your pencils to begin sketching out potential solutions to the particular problems of clients. Here, the goal was to better understand how you could bring them a lot of value and which functions were most important to them.
Prototype and validate – sprints
So now, you are now at the last step, which is to create a prototype of the product and have it validated. It usually lasts a stage, divided into one-week sprints. It is time to work on the priorities set out in the previous step.
This process is transparent and challenging, and includes daily 15-minute meetings. At the end of each sprint, you can demonstrate the product to the customer to gather feedback. At the end of the stage, you have in hand the deliverables that put you on the path to success for the development phase.
For example, after listing all the functions to be included in and ranking them from the most important to the least important, the team set out to design a prototype of the MVP (minimum viable product). The MVP includes all the must-haves, but keeps the extras in reserve for later versions. This exercise is essential, because it is impossible to include ALL the desired functions in the first version of a product. And you should understand that it would be far too long and expensive. So, it is, therefore, necessary to launch a first version that contains only the best functions, those that bring the most value to users, in this case, the clients. After the launch of the MVP, you will be able to improve the product and make it evolve according to customer feedback.
But be careful, before moving on to the execution phase, when you, or another team like Inoxoft, start programming the prototype, it is crucial to solicit feedback from potential users by showing them a dynamic prototype of the solution.
To gather feedback, you can turn to a variety of software, which allow us to adjust the prototype by adding or removing functions as needed, more easily and at a lower cost. It’s a bit like building a house: it’s much cheaper to add a basement when the project is still on paper than when construction has already begun.
Key deliverables of the Discovery Phase
What’s great about the discovery phase is not only that it reduces risk and gets you off to a good start, but you come out with accurate deliverables.
For most of our client’s projects, these deliverables include:
- Information Architecture;
- User Journey;
- List of features in order of priority;
- Models;
- Prototype with clickable elements;
- Technical architecture;
- Cost estimate and schedule of technical development.
Given the solid foundation it gives to your mobile or web application project, the discovery phase is the best way to embark on the creation of a new digital product. This proven method eliminates costly mistakes and gives you inventive ways to deliver superior solutions. It’s a powerful experience that fosters collaboration and co-creation with key stakeholders while putting your end users and business needs first.
The described discovery phase workshops are offered both remotely and in person (subject to applicable health restrictions). Whichever format you choose, our process will give you a head start on your digital project. The discovery phase is a creative way to stimulate your team and accelerate the software development of your web or mobile application.
