The Discovery Phase: Why You Need It, and Why Ours Is Different

Ever heard the intriguing tale of the Sydney Opera House project? It's quite a story. Originally planned for a tidy five years, it stretched out to a whopping 14 years and blew the budget by 15 times. Why? Well, they jumped into the project without a clear plan to bring that visionary sketch to life.

But here's the thing: planning is everything! And that applies across the board, even in the world of software development.

In the realm of IT projects, we've got what's called the discovery phase. Ever wondered what it's all about, how it fits into both waterfall and agile methods and how Alpacked tackles it? Well, you're in luck because that's exactly what we're going to dig into in this article. So, hang tight! ??

So, what exactly is this discovery phase and what's it all about?

So, what exactly is this discovery phase and what's it all about?

Well, the discovery phase, also known as product or project discovery, is essentially the opening act in the grand theater of software development. Picture it as a collaborative effort during which you aim to gain a crystal-clear understanding of what lies ahead. For both the customer and executor. Here's a sneak peek into what typically goes down:

• Analyzing Needs: Scrutinize the client's needs within the broader business context, defining models, risks, and constraints.
• User Insights: Dig deep into the user landscape, segmenting them and uncovering their needs in relation to the client's vision.
• Solution Brainstorming: Put our thinking caps on to devise a solution that tackles user pain points head-on. This involves envisioning how the product will look, function, and what it can do.
• Execution Strategy: Chart the roadmap for bringing this vision to life. This includes tech stack selection, quality assurance plans, project structure (roles and responsibilities), and communication strategies.
• Budget and Deadlines: Nail down the financials and timeframes to keep the project on track.
• Risk Assessment: Identifying potential pitfalls and how to navigate around them.
• Talent Check: Ensuring to have the right expertise on board.

Now, here's the kicker: there's no one-size-fits-all formula for acing the discovery phase. How you and your development team tackle it largely depends on your chosen software development model.

So, let's dive into two of the heavyweights in the ring: the tried-and-true waterfall and the agile methodologies. Ready to explore? ??

Doing the product discovery the right way

As you can see, there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for the discovery phase. How you implement it, how long it’ll take you, and what deliverables it’ll result in heavily relies on your project type and stage. However, these two conditions are mandatory:?

• It doesn’t matter who conducts the discovery phase, your in-house team or an external vendor. But you shouldn’t skip it.?
• Improvisation during implementation doesn’t work. Implementation is always an informed process: whatever is under your hood, you should always know that you are solving the right problem in the right way for the right audience. If you have doubts, it’s better to revisit your project plan.

Now let’s see how Alpacked approaches product discovery for our clients.?

Our approach

Before we get deeper into the nuances of our project discovery at Alpacked , let’s make a brief detour into how and why we’ve settled for this approach.??

In the good old days, when our company was small and not very experienced, we used to create the project roadmap during the first weeks of work. To collect the necessary information for the roadmap, we conducted knowledge transfer sessions — meetings where a client’s team explained the project’s details to our developers, so our team would have a better understanding of what was going on and how everything fitted together.?

Sounds reasonable, right? Well, in reality, those meetings weren’t useful at all. And it’s not because developers didn’t do their job - both sides were active at such sessions. But the trick was that everything sounded reasonable to newcomers only during the meetings. Once the team started working on a project and diving deep, there was always something that didn’t fit into this puzzle.

So, to avoid resolving this puzzle when the project was already in full swing, we decided to go for a different way. Now, before conducting knowledge transfer, we do the following:

1. Get all the technical requirements a client wants to meet.
2. Understand the long-term business needs of the company.
3. Get access to everything the client has in their development — in the cloud, their repositories, and beyond — and assess a picture of how things stand according to our standards.
4. Get the report from our discovery team.
5. Match what the discovery team found with what the client requested initially.
6. Organize the call with the client and ask questions. Sometimes they may sound silly , but more often than not, they turn out to be the most useful ones and shed light on the customer problems.
7. Work tightly with the client to create a roadmap for the project. This allows the client to rely on our expertise in terms of understanding what should be resolved. As a result, we can prioritize the milestones based on the business needs.

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Conclusion

The discovery phase isn't just a step in your project journey, it's the very compass that guides you toward success. It empowers our team to deeply understand your unique needs, tailor a solution that fits like a glove, and chart a clear roadmap that respects your time and budget.

Recognizing the pivotal role the discovery phase plays, we invite you to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.?

Exciting news!

We are thrilled to present a webinar about the art of project discovery, where we'll unveil the secrets to launching your projects on the path to triumph! ??

???? Click here to reserve your seat now and prepare to unlock invaluable insights and expert guidance.

?What should you expect: ?

• Unlock practical insights to overcome DevOps challenges.
• Learn DevOps strategies that genuinely deliver results.
• Gain perspective on DevOps challenges through relatable, real-life stories.
• Discover the essential tools and techniques for DevOps success.

?? Want to know a secret? You'll receive free insights and a post-session checklist to help you implement these strategies on your own.