Discovery Phase for your Software Project: Setback or Necessity?

While marketing and competitor intelligence are believed to be the key to business success, we firmly believe that the starting point of many successful software development projects is a discovery phase.
This is the initial part of the project, often called analysis, dedicated to building an understanding of how your business is going to be implemented within a future software product. Regardless of what product is being built, there are always key factors that should be properly defined, for instance:
All stages of software development process are described on this infographic.
The Discovery Phase usually covers the following activities, which vary more or less depending on requirements:
As an outcome the following deliverables can be achieved (not all are strict requirements and should be chosen based on project needs):
Frankly speaking, we’d be happy to start the development phase in an instant, as this is the part we love. However, we are certain that without a careful analysis of the features during the project initiation, the development will most likely take up more resources in terms of time and costs (not considering functionally simple solutions). Lack of careful pre-development analysis implies that a fixed estimation of the development timeframes and costs cannot be provided - simply because the project scope is unconfirmed.
Obviously, if the whole business process is not analysed and technology stack is not planned in advance, the development itself will be based on assumptions rather than on verified facts.
The software development can be compared to building a house: when aiming to build a solid and reliable structure, having blueprints as well as a finalized design is the only way it can be done. You may have a beautiful picture of it, but to build it from the ground up, you will need a strong foundation, a list of tools and materials, and a plan for how engineering communications will be located (e.g. electricity or plumbing), as well as an understanding of your construction method.
It’s worth mentioning that not every project requires an extensive and costly discovery phase: for most, a shorter documentation phase that covers the riskiest aspects of the business model and potential pitfalls of its technical implementation will do. Other, lower-priority functionality details can be defined later during the development itself.
IT expert. You know your end product, target audience and the goals that need to be met. You’ve done an in-depth analysis of all the existing software in your field and have a clear USP. All the technical aspects have been addressed and all the risks have been assessed. You have fully-fledged specs with all the technical details, including which platform to develop on and for which devices, models, screen sizes and resolutions. You’ve set your OS version demands and provided a prototype to identify how the features should be visualised for each user - from manager to admin, business owner, etc. All demands have been logically structured and your software requirement specifications perfected.
Business guru. You’ve already undertaken market research and crystallised user demands and competitor advantages. You have an outline of business processes and all the software features that need to be implemented to offer the best solution on the market. You’ve prepared a design concept and know how the most important features will be executed. All that’s needed is a little help prioritising tasks and some technical expertise from a professional developer so that everything can be implemented with the utmost efficiency.
Apprentice. You have a brilliant idea and plenty of aspiration. Despite not being familiar with IT, you have a deep understanding of all the business procedures that should be implemented in the working digital product. The initial budget is secure and the idea needs to be checked on the real market or to persuade potential investors it’s a hit.
A discovery phase helps in defining the end result and in figuring out how will your business operate from within the software solution - in other words, the technical and business feasibility become synchronised. During this stage, our analysts will work closely with you to find potential weaknesses and misconceptions, strengthen logic and cut off dead ends. Together we will determine the priorities as well as map out how staff, users, and management will interact with the new software. Aside from the technical aspects, we will identify what guidance and reporting systems are needed for your company and develop a step-by-step implementation plan.
Upon the completion of the Discovery Phase, you will be presented with a detailed software description (Software Requirement Specification), which in turn would result in transparent functionality, based on which the precise budgeting and predictable development timeframes will be provided by any of potential vendors. All of these points are utterly important for ensuring that the stakeholders, early adopters, and potential investors would become aware of your project's functionality and magnitude.
And finally, can I work without discovery phase? Sure, you can
Our team has extensive experience of working in iterations (sprints) with minimum project documentation. This is called a SCRUM model, which is a part of an Agile strategy. Based on this approach, all activity is divided into short (usually two-week long) sprints.
Together we will confirm what functionality needs to be covered within the next iteration. The agreed areas will then be programmed. This is a very progressive method, which works brilliantly within advanced IT companies and unpredictable, rapidly changing business environments.
Unfortunately, it is not a one-size-fits-all situation - quite often some sprint results have to be totally reworked later on, as various business factors were not taken into consideration due to the lack of a complete vision. By implementing a discovery phase, we are avoiding such dead loops.
If you need some advice, how to save money on app development, read this post. If you are looking for a professional support with your software project, please contact us and together we'll work out the solution.