What is a discovery phase, and why is it important?

Intro

The Discovery or research phase is an essential component of any software development, even though it’s not explicit enough. At StartupCraft, we started probably like everyone else by estimating the project development right away with the desire to provide a quote as soon as possible. Unfortunately, such a process neglects the series of pitfalls that simply start as miscommunication between what the client expects and what the team thinks they understand. And while this really might lead to winning the contract, the team will eventually pave the way into the uncertainty, failed deadlines, overspending and losing a reputation. At the same time, the client will feel frustrated or even deceived, losing their deadlines and ruining the go-to-market strategy.

After a few lessons, we realised that we needed to change the process and that the buffer we put into the estimation doesn’t always work.

Blueprint approach

We call the discovery phase a Blueprint Milestone in StartupCraft. The idea to use that term perfectly reflects the immediate delivery out of this step which looks like a visual schematic. This process initially came from finding the golden mean between the tedious requirements composition resulting in the wall of text documentation consisting of 50-100 pages and lack of resources or time, which is often considered a pre-sale stage and considered to come for free.

The ballpark quote is asked by 99.99% of clients as it comes out of a natural need to know some projection of resources needed to bring the project to life. Therefore, we consider the ballpark estimate our friend and not the enemy. Since the input information of a startup project contains a scanty amount of essential details, we compensate it by giving a considerable range reflecting the proportional level of uncertainty. StartupCraft has invented the Blueprint precisely to eliminate such luck, but it won’t be sufficient to argue the extra costs, and it won’t be fair either.

Each time the new project request hits our mailbox, we face unique ideas that sometimes deserve to be called market disruptors. Banging the head around to understand how much it would cost to develop such a fantastic idea, we changed how we perceive the discovery phase. It has to come more than just discovery, and the answer lies on the surface of the problem itself - we need a solution where the team is 100% confident. Hang on! You might think that solution Architecture is an essential topic and has little to do with the research alone. And you will be correct. At this point, we start to think about avoiding using the term “discovery phase” and utilise a more meaningful word - the Blueprint. It doesn’t change the fact that Solution Architecture is a complex routine and requires top of the line thinking, but this is precisely what startup founders seek most of the time. Even though the client might not realise Blueprint's importance initially, it becomes crystal clear once the canvas consisting of visual documentation starts to take shape.

As part of a discovery phase, solution architecture becomes a secret sauce that differentiates StartupCraft from other companies that perform the discovery phase. In addition, startups deal with a scarcity of financial and time resources, so acquiring top-notch intelligence becomes essential to bring clarity to the most expensive part of the project - the development.

The main deliverable

Now, when it’s clear that the blueprint covers the research aspect and finding a solution, we can dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of the whole process. And first of all, we make sure to secure the best engineers available in our company to participate in that process. Knowing what questions to ask, where to search, and what solution can fit the purpose requires outstanding expertise and dealing with rookies would defeat the goal initially.

At StartupCraft, we set a high threshold for such a role with at least ten years of commercial experience in the field. The entire team composition can include software engineers, technical leads, solution architects, business analysts and project managers. The key to success lies in the internal distribution of efforts and time to justify an efficient implementation.

The team is ready. What’s next? Now, it’s a matter of having a proper sequence of events to collect the requirements and create a solution. We split the process into several steps, starting from gathering the intelligence of the product through a well-defined brief and walking through brainstorming from the very first call. The next step is where the fun begins. After careful study of each feature, problem or functionality, the team makes an educated guess bringing their vast experience to the table. Then, following a short break of a day or two, and more often than not, we hit the bull’s eye with the very draft solution. Upon several meetings, the draft solution passes the polishing process to a level of something that we can genuinely call the Blueprint — containing the necessary information about the business logic, structure and connections between these two. Completing a draft blueprint also marks a point in the most important deliverable of this stage - a well defined and well-detailed specification of the product. And it takes only from 1 to 2 weeks for the average startup project.

The Roadmap

After the client confirms it was running through every corner of the visual schematic, the team moves to the next stage called the Roadmap. First, we convert the business logic into a structured list of features then estimate every task which constitutes it.

Then, we add the features list onto the Gantt chart timeline to complement the picture and understand the delivery schedule.

This time, with all the information coming together, there is no excuse for failing a deadline or falling short with available resources. And this guarantees that the estimation is accurate and that change can be effected only by the change requests during the development.

And despite that fact, having a Blueprint on your side provides a strong backbone of product understanding where the slight deviations or modifications will not significantly affect the budget or timeline. This deliverable becomes an ultimate source of knowledge for a project founder without a need to have a solid technical background.

The Summary

The Discovery phase is a crucial component of any development, but it’s not enough to justify the resources and time for this task alone. Unfortunately, most startup entrepreneurs don’t have the expertise or time to delve into the details. It leads to skipping the solutions architecture and surrendering to jumping straight into the product development. This decision ultimately leads to a lack of clarity and facts, which is usually translated into frustration later.

The Blueprint approach helps bring transparency to the dialogue and converts the brief and unorganised ideas into professional technical documentation that can serve as a primary source of information for you and the technical team. It combines the value of consultancy from the experts and the experience of a team, building projects for years. Finally, it’s carefully packaged in a valuable set of deliverables that replaces conventional textual documentation with an elegant visual canvas supported with a detailed Roadmap and precise Timeline that could enhance the business plan alone.

Optionally, StartupCraft can augment the Blueprint by developing the high fidelity UI/UX design. We’ve seen this option used by some StartupCraft clients to create a compelling presentation during the fundraising process. Another excellent side-effect is an opportunity to feel the product without being developed. The prototype can help test the idea with their communities and discover invaluable insights before writing a single row of code.

Feel free to check our Blueprint landing page to get even more insights into what to expect during that stage, and contact us if you are ready to bring your project idea to the next level.