Discovery phase of a software project

However, it only simulates the way users will interact with the solution interface. In this regard, prototypes are different from MVPs, as the latter are basically working solutions with minimum functionality to satisfy early adopters. Still these two concepts are similar since both MVP software development and prototyping are used for testing the feasibility of a business idea.

Main goal: test the ways of user interaction with an app and simulate the user experience. Necessity: help clients show the solution idea to stakeholders, get valuable feedback from end-users, and test real user experience before starting the development process. In a word, prototyping is a powerful approach that allows clients to see how the final product will work. It gives an opportunity to simulate real user interaction, get valuable feedback, and come up with new ideas on application.

The video below shows the user flow on an activity booking marketplace that we have recently developed for our customer. We started working on this project by holding a number of discovery sessions. This way, we were able to collect all the information required for successful project delivery.

A product discovery in software development is a useful and efficient way for clients to validate their product idea. They identify business goals, desired outcomes, and get accurate time estimates and web app development cost. This way, both customers and project teams become ready for a clear and transparent development process. At Codica, we devote much attention to this development stage. We ask questions that allow our project team to explore the subject area, its bottlenecks, offer high-level solutions and the most suitable tech stack.

Finally, we provide a client with an accurate time and cost estimate, application wireframe and clickable prototypes. If you already have a project idea to discuss, contact us and get a free quote. Also, you may check our case studies to get a better idea of the products we deliver. Our custom web application development company will be glad to organize a product discovery phase and, with its help, turn your project into reality.

Custom Software. What is a project discovery phase? What are the possible formats of project discovery phases? What are the key product discovery roles? Lead software developer Lead engineers are responsible for technical solutions.

Explore the subject area In the beginning, a client and a project team investigate the subject area, analyze product concept, market, and competitors. Identify bottlenecks When a client team provides their expectations on the product, a software agency analyzes the input data and discusses the project bottlenecks.

Discuss high-level solutions to the expected challenges After that, technical specialists provide high-level solutions to the expected project pain points. Digiteum is a custom software development company helping businesses reach their clients. We focus on creating and delivering customer-centric solutions across web, mobile and IoT. Nov 11, Katherine Lazarevich discovery project Expert View. What is a discovery phase in software development?

Who does the discovery phase of your project? As a rule, these roles are engaged in a discovery phase of a software project. Stakeholders and domain experts. On the vendor's side. Lead designers and UX experts. Tech lead, senior engineers and architects, CTO. Business analysts and project managers. Why start your software product development with a Discovery project? Get a comprehensive view. Bring tech competence.

Optimize the cost of development. Find your competitive edge. Create a clear product vision. Other benefits of a discovery phase in software project implementation. Minimize risks. Thorough research that we conduct during the discovery phase helps assess and minimize these risks such as: Unnecessary investment to features and functionality that has no demand on the market. Poor design and technology choices that will require amends, change in tech stack and result in the delayed launch and added expenses.

Failure to identify and properly address user needs and market requirements. Discovering issues or limitations in the middle of project development. Estimate resources. How much time it will take to design, develop and deploy the system, including a detailed timeline and milestones.

Team and expertise you will need to implement the project. Preliminary cost of design and development. Other resources you might need to engage. We will go through the list of deliverables later in the article, so stay tuned. Assign priorities. Key steps of your Discovery project. We conduct a series of interviews with the client and domain experts to learn about the concept of the future software. If a client has already made preliminary research, for example, a marketing study or user survey, we bring in these insights to create a more comprehensive view of the project and its potential.

This step engages the key participants of the Discovery project on our side — business analysts, lead tech and design experts and management. We conduct a detailed analysis of the input data and make research. Transparency and effective communication are important at all stages of a project, discovery phase is not an exception. Therefore, as soon as we have articulated project requirements and findings, we conduct a workshop with key stakeholders and the analytics team to approve the scope, go over the details and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Then, we can get down to deliverables. We prepare all the documentation, reports and other deliverables. As a rule, we conduct another workshop with the client and other stakeholders to communicate the results of our research, explain the proposed strategy and offer a step-by-step plan for system development.

Deliverables of discovery phase in software development. User portfolio. Report on competition and market research. Project goal statement and value proposition. Documented requirements. Owning a business is like being a passenger on Titanic… one day you wake up feeling free and inspired, enjoying the luxury life and business success. And the next day - the market can hit you so hard that you end up on a sinking ship fighting to keep your business alive.

But in business, especially when developing IT products - the project discovery phase is your lifeboat! Well, nothing speaks better than numbers!

Yes, the business reality is harsh. But discovery phase software development will certainly increase your chances to create a solid digital product and substantially lower the risk of product failure. Time to dive into the discovery process to answer this question. To keep information relevant and avoid burdening you with useless data, we decided to simply cover the most burning questions you might have about the project discovery phase.

Yeah, we googled it! During the discovery phase project team researches collect and analyzes project information and plan an entire product development cycle.

At this stage, we check if the product concept is viable, feasible, and usable. The big WHY is always at the core of every business, idea, or project. No wonder the same applies to the project discovery phase. In other words, WHY did this service come to exist? WHAT is the need or purpose behind it? Discovery phase software development is apparently a mystery to most people and even business folks out there. It might sound profound and complex, but in reality - it involves well-known business processes.

Briefly, the project discovery process goes like this:. The basic workflow of the discovery phase project depends on the product development agency approach. To get to know the end-user, it is crucial to ask questions like: Who are your customers? How do they think? How will your product help them? Whether your project is for a large scale enterprise system or a startup app, it is important that you and your team include a discovery phase in your software development plan.

This is because in all software development projects, miscommunication or misunderstandings can lead to missed deadlines and exceeded budgets, which no one wants. Small cross-functional teams may be able to quickly communicate and adapt to changes, but to better mitigate those risks it is crucial that everyone involved in the project is able to provide their input early and understand both the vision and the restrictions like cost and time. The discovery phase provides a time for all stakeholders of the project to come together and create a shared understanding of the project goals.

This collaborative vision helps ensure that in each step of the project, the end goal remains the same: provide business value. A powerful outcome of this discovery process in software development is the relationships built between project members; these relationships bridge the gaps between the development team and the client or business development teams. Who is Involved? An effective discovery process should include as many stakeholders as possible. Stakeholders include those affected by or those who are a part of the project, ranging from all members of the development team to end users and subject matter experts.

You should bring multiple points of view into the process because this will allow for discussion around technological feasibility, provide a clearer focus on overarching business requirements, and garner invaluable user insights.

Ideally, the entire development team should be involved in this process, including programmers and quality assurance testers , and at a minimum, the Project Manager , Business Analyst , Solution Architect and User Experience Designer , as well as representative end users, should be present.

In an Agile Scrum environment, it is critical that the Product Owner is present for all activities in this phase. As part of the Discovery Process, representative end users should also be included at the end of the day, end users are who you are building this for.

User Experience UX Designers can be extremely useful in the discovery process, as many functional constraints can be informed by user interface UI requirements. A common practice to bring the Discovery and Design processes together is to conduct a design thinking workshop, where stakeholders come together to comprehensively discuss the motivations, requirements, and vision for the project.

It may seem obvious but the most important participant in the discovery process is you the client. If you are building software or having a team build it for you the team is beholden to you; you are the client, and you are also very likely the product owner. But always remember that at the end of the day, you are beholden to the end user — whoever that is.

The discovery period is the best opportunity for you to share your ideas with the team and make any changes to your business plan. It is easy to get excited about a new idea and discuss the main features of it.