A Discovery Phase: How To Run It Wisely For Your Software Product?

One of the most crucial components of software development is the project discovery phase. This element of the process noticeably enhances your chances of risk mitigation and enables businesses to avoid scope creep. Altogether, the project discovery phase is a sure way to avoid overstepping your budget or deadlines.

Statistics show that 19% of all new projects fail, and 50% experience scope creep. These statistics look quite grim. However, with the discovery phase, it’s possible to effectively prioritize tasks and meet the needs of your end customer.

However, an effective discovery phase can only be executed by an experienced team. DashDevs has delivered over 500 projects, and now we have a unique approach to the discovery phase that combines tech skills, business analysis, and project planning. In this article, you’ll learn more about the discovery phases, the process, and its benefits. Without further ado, let’s dive deeper into the initial stage of every software project.

What Is the Project Discovery Phase?

The project discovery phase is the first initial phase of the project development process. It’s also known as the preparation or scoping phase, and this name already overlaps with its meaning, showing that it is the step one takes to gather as much information about the project as possible before development.

The goal of the discovery phase is to get rid of uncertainty that might be present in your project idea, validate its feasibility, and define a realistic scope of actions, information, and deliverables needed to develop an MVP. It might include:

1. Architecture
2. Integration aspects
3. Roadmap
4. Timeline estimate
5. Project scope and goals
6. Risks and ways to mitigate them
7. Budget estimate.

The discovery phase of a project can also prove invaluable in decision-making, as it gathers enough data for hypothesis testing and validation. It also prevents expensive changes during the following stages of the software development life cycle.

What if You Ignore the Discovery Phase?

The discovery phase, often overlooked in project management, is the cornerstone of a successful business. Skipping this crucial step is akin to building a house without a blueprint—you may end up with a structure that’s structurally unsound, inefficient and fails to meet your needs.

Working in this industry, I often encountered people seeking a remedy for the aftermath of avoiding the phase discovery. Among other risks, these are the most prominent that I’ve identified in my practice.

• Increased costs: Without a blueprint, unforeseen challenges can arise, leading to budget overruns and delays.
• Scope creep: The scope can expand if you don’t have a correct understanding of the tasks.
• Reduced quality: A lack of clarity usually results in an unfinished product or a product that doesn’t fully meet your needs.
• Missed opportunities: The discovery phase helps identify potential revenue streams and market opportunities that might be overlooked.
• Project failure: In severe cases, skipping the discovery phase can result in missing the product-market fit, which can lead to project failure.

Can You Launch a Product Without a Project Discovery Phase?

Business owners often overlook the software discovery phase as they see it as something that takes up time and resources and doesn’t bring high enough ROI. However, going through this phase is essential to achieve success in so many cases, it’s easier to say when you don’t need it and consider that in all other cases, it’s crucial for your product development.

• You develop a prototype or an update. In this case, you already have a product that doesn’t require complex project requirements and might even be at the latest stage of its project roadmap. It renders a discovery phase unnecessary since the project isn’t as complex and doesn’t need you to blueprint.
• You can afford to make a mistake. If you’re just starting out and don’t have a lot at stake, it might seem to make sense to test a lot of hypotheses before your idea is finally thought through. If this is where you’re at, the discovery phase still might come in handy later.
• The project is exceptionally small. A formal discovery phase might be overkill for exceptionally small and straightforward projects with a well-defined scope, such as a landing page or a tool integration.

What Happens During the Discovery Phase?

The software discovery phase most often repeats itself from one project to the other, which can be typical for many software companies and product development processes. However, at DashDevs, we refurbished it to leave more space for flexibility and customization.

1. Design of the general scope of work and feature list. This is the first step of the software discovery phase. The main objective is to help your development team understand your business better. Studies show that approximately 39% of projects fail due to poor requirement gathering. With phase discovery, you can analyze the needs of your audience, the state of the market, and stakeholders’ demands to construct a list of features and prioritize them.
2. Architecture and technical solution discovery. At this stage, it’s important to review the existing artifacts, analyze current solutions, and create a plan for technical implementation of the product.
3. Estimation and verification of the requirements. The most important document you’ll compose with your discovery team is the Software Requirements Specification. It consists of all the requirements related to product development. The document helps you all be on the same page about the system’s design, desired functionality, and other crucial requirements. At the same step, we also estimate timelines, resources, and efforts to create a comprehensive project plan.
4. Results review. This step is the final in the project development discovery phase. Here we review the estimation and artifacts of the development discovery projects and kickstart the development process after all things have been considered.

This is a project discovery phase template that the DashDevs team created using the expertise of our software engineers and project managers. Use it as a draft to develop your expectations from this stage.

Who Is Involved in the Project Discovery Team?

One of the most important components of high-quality development discovery is a team. You need dedicated people with profound expertise involved in the development discovery phase. I have been working in the software development industry for over 20 years and have gone through the process of discovery steps hundreds of times.

This is what I envision as an ideal project discovery team:

• **Business analyst: **This specialist acts as a liaison between stakeholders and the development team. They analyze and document the stakeholders’ requirements and ensure that all parties understand the project goals and requirements. BA can also assist in validating the requirements to ensure their alignment with the business needs and objectives.
• Tech lead. Their main objective is to design the system’s structure and behavior to meet technical and business requirements. The tech lead develops the architecture of the system, defining its components, modules, interfaces, and data flow. They choose appropriate technologies and tools that align with the project’s needs and constraints. They also provide technical leadership and guidance throughout the development process to ensure adherence to the architectural vision.
• UI/UX designers. When the requirements are collected, designers create software prototypes to bring the product vision to life. At this step, they aim to build intuitive navigation with attractive and user-friendly design and demonstrate the product’s future design. If you need a highly professional UI/UX designer, you can always turn to DashDevs and look for the best design and tech expertise.

What Are the Benefits Of the Discovery Phase?

The IT discovery phase of a project mitigates the risks of failure, overrun, and delayed delivery. So, you shouldn’t disregard it. But, if you still think you can save up your resources by stepping over the initial discovery, here are some statements that might change your mind.

Reduced Risks

By evaluating the scope of work, you can see if your goals are achievable and what resources are required. This enables your technical team to be prepared for numerous situations and market reactions to your product. The IT discovery phase of a project is a calculated step, investing in your future; without it, software development looks more like a leap of faith.

Clear Objectives

The software can be delivered on time and within your budget, but if a product’s fundamental goals and values aren’t clearly communicated, there is no guarantee it will be what you’ve envisioned. Proper communication and goal setting are necessary for a team to stay focused and work towards the best output. One of the benefits of the IT discovery process is that it ensures everyone has a clear vision of what the team is doing.

Trust

One of the most popular ways to implement your idea into a tech solution is to hire an outsource software vendor provider. It’s less expensive and time-consuming than individually hiring each member for an in-house team. However, you need to be on the same page to cooperate with these new specialists you’ve never cooperated with before. And, as the discovery phase implies lots of in-depth discussions and frequent communication, it helps settle nerves and ensure you know the people you will be working with.

Development Plan

The discovery phase is foremost about setting deadlines, estimates, and requirements. When everyone sticks to a plan, the work is done faster and more efficiently, and with a clear framework, the workflow is smooth. The discovery phase in software development creates a transparent work environment where everyone understands their area of expertise and knows what to deliver and when.

Seamless Workflow

During the discovery phase, you can evaluate your needs regarding team composition. It is your choice, and you can decide on who you need on board. And, if there’s a talent shortage in the team, with the discovery phase, project management has enough time to hire other specialists.

How to Make a Discovery Phase a Perfect Beginning Of the Project?

Our team has extensive experience with the application and website discovery process; we’ve seen it all. After all this time, DashDevs has built a unique vision of problem-solving during the discovery phase. We’re sharing these tips with you in hopes that they will be useful and will help you turn a discovery phase into a roaring success.

#1 Don’t Cut Budget

The discovery phase should be seen as an inherent part of your project and not something to cut costs with. It might look like you’re saving resources if you’re starting straight from development, but you’re wasting more than you gain. Such an approach brings out more risks of overrunning the budget and missing deadlines.

Remember that the discovery phase is mandatory. In some companies, it is even offered as a separate service when you create SRS and then proceed to another vendor. Here, at DashDevs, we offer the discovery phase as part of a turnkey development.

#2 Don’t Cut Time

No one knows your business better than you do, and no one can convey your vision better. A team of experts can help you evaluate the software you want to launch. Only 79% of businesses survived their first year in 2022; all the rest failed. The majority of those fail due to no market need. The discovery process can help you be one of those who stay ahead of the market and enjoy profitable sales. And you should dwell a bit more on explaining your project to the team, stakeholders, and even yourself to ensure that everyone is on the same page and pursues the same goal.

#3 Ask Questions

The discovery phase is the best time to discuss all your ideas and concerns and set the goal of the discovery phase. Don’t be afraid to question anything related to the project development, users’ needs, allocation of resources, team members, etc. You’re also advised to challenge assumptions and provoke the team to generate ideas and discuss possible solutions.

#4 Involve Key Stakeholders

The more key specialists related to the project are engaged in discussions, analysis, and research, the better. First, this allows you to benefit from the expertise and experience of each of them. As they say, ​​truth springs from an argument. Second, when all the team members are familiar with the project’s background and know its essence, you’ll achieve much better results in a shorter timeline.

Key Discovery Phase Deliverables

The deliverables may vary depending on the size and complexity of your project. All outputs are essential, given the resources you’ve given to the discovery phase.

Among the most important of them are the following:

1. Product vision and scope: A clear statement of the project’s goals, objectives, and boundaries.
2. User flow: A visual representation of the user’s journey through the product.
3. Feature structures: A detailed outline of the product’s features and their functionalities.
4. Architecture: The overall structure and organization of the system.
5. System design: The detailed specifications and design of the system’s components.
6. Third-party integration discovery: An investigation of potential external systems or services to integrate with.
7. Recommended technology attack: A list of suggested tools and technologies for development.
8. Roadmap with estimation timeline: A plan for project execution, including estimated timelines for each phase.
9. Recommended team composition for development: A suggested breakdown of the team’s roles and skills.

The discovery phase ultimately produces a project plan that considers all the variables and requirements to create a perfectly tailored action plan and set the stage for further development.

Final Thoughts

The project discovery phase is an essential part of software development. It sets up the whole process by creating a number of crucial documents and building the process so that you get the result you’ve envisioned. Software development needs meticulous planning and unyielding attention to detail, which only the project phase discovery can bring.

This is why DashDevs has created a special way of conducting the software discovery phase. Our team delivered 500+ projects over the 14+ years of our development practice, and I’ve worked with software for over 20 years as well. If you need a team to execute a discovery stage for you – Contact us, and let’s discuss your project.