Discovery Phase importance in Software Development

How can it affect your development process?

When you are a business owner, you are on a board of Titanic. You wake up one day and find yourself living a life of wealth and prosperity. The next day, the market might wreak such havoc that you find yourself clinging to a sinking ship in an attempt to save your firm

Now, what if there was a way to anticipate costs and hazards, and then plan accordingly?

Let's get started!

About Software Development Discovery Phase

Going through the discovery process with a dependable tech partner for startups is like conserving space on a lifeboat while building IT solutions. If you want to limit risks, predict expenses, and plan for success, this is the best method to do it

There’s no denying that the economic world is brutal. Let’s face it, no business venture can’t guarantee to be a success. In software development process, the discovery stage can greatly boost your chances of creating a high-quality digital product and significantly decrease your product’s failure risk. It’s worth mentioning this stage necessitates a high level of technical skill, therefore it’s best to leave it in the hands of a company with a track record of creating software

Taking a look at real-world examples, let’s examine how the discovery process is organized in practice.

First phase of the project should be Project Discovery

Let’s take a look at some of the most often asked questions concerning the research phase of a project

Top five questions about discovery phase in software development listed below:

• Main goal of discovery phase?
• Is a discovery phase something really required?
• During a project’s discovery phase, what exactly happens?
• What is the process of doing a discovery?
• What does a product discovery begin with?

We’ll be going over each one individually

Contact form of a team with deep discovery phase experience

What is the purpose of Discovery Phase?

At this point in the software development process the primary purpose is to learn as much as possible about the target audience, define the project’s scope, and identify potential hazards

Research, data collection, and analysis take place during the discovery phase of a project. This phase is applied to design the complete product development cycle. You need to make research and see if the product concept is useful, practicable and users will enjoy it

Is a Discovery Phase necessary?

Every business, concept, or endeavor has its own major challenge it’s trying to solve. Software is going to serve for the specific reason. This is what we’ve learned in CloudFlex:

• DETERMINE corporate objectives, needs, and product vision
• PLAN, DESIGN, AND DEVELOP PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE to meet particular business objectives
• BE AWARE of and minimize any dangers
• CREATE a detailed plan for the product’s future development

During a project’s Discovery Phase, what exactly happens?

It appears that it is a mystery what is discovery phase during software development to the majority of individuals, even business owners in certain cases. While it may appear complicated, the methods are well-known in the corporate world

This is a brief summary of how the project discovery process works:

1. Acquainting yourself with the client’s business plan. For example, it can be a questionnaire or maybe a series of one-to-one meetings. Brainstorming sessions, presentations are also good to have
   
2. Making plans for the next project and discussing current company practices. Getting the client’s expectations and wishes in line with realistic timelines is crucial at this point in the project. Defining the product’s intended audience
   
3. Detailed market research and competitive analysis
   
4. Defining milestones of the project
   
5. Establishing goals and deadlines
   
6. Involvement of the right people and well-rounded team
   
7. An agreement has been signed to begin the research phase
   

What is the process of doing a Discovery?

The methodology taken by the product development firm determines the general process for the discovery phase project. We at CloudFlex build software and products using an agile strategy

Please follow these eight simple steps to see how it works:

Step #1: Gathering data and building user stories

Identifying who you’re trying to reach. To understand your target audience individual portrait, ask essential questions like: Who are your customers? What are their hurts, problems, and needs? Do they have any ideas? What is the benefit of your product to them? What can you do to establish a relationship with them?

As an example, What we’re trying to do is get to the bottom of exactly who we’re producing a product for. Stakeholders should be kept in the loop. The future software project should be discussed with senior management and other relevant stakeholders. During this phase, interviews to the end audience conducted and necessary data gathered, KPIs and other measures are established

Another crucial point is Market Research

Simply said, “99% of the effort in a company’s success comes from execution, and just 1% comes from the idea.”

The discovery phase of a project is not complete without market research and analysis. Selecting the correct financial model, coming up with a company plan, and assessing the possibilities are all made easier with this tool

Competitive Analysis

Study your opponent, take what you’ve learned from them, use what you’ve learned to make yourself better, and succeed!

Create User Stories

We’re in love with it! It is easier for developers, stakeholders, and end users to comprehend user stories. They are arranged in lists that may be easily updated when fresh information is available

Stage #2: Organizing your thoughts

Utilize mind mapping for that. As a visualization approach, the mind map method is a useful tool for determining the optimal direction of action for a given product’s growth

Step #3 Establish workshops to collect high-level requirements

Incorporating all of your product’s technical specifications into one comprehensive single document - product requirement document known as PRD. It outlines all the features that will be included in the software product in the future. Simply stated, if it is not in the PRD, it might not be included in the final release

Step #4 Create a prototype

Prototypes are an interactive replica of your program that resembles and functions like the finished product. The prototype is a tool for developing and validating your notion. Demonstrating that a concept is technically feasible is known as Proof of Concept (PoC). As a result, functional hypotheses can be verified and technical roadblocks can be identified. In the long term, faulty software can have a negative impact on brand reputation and end earnings. It is important to conduct testing and get customer input in order to produce goods that are free of defects and fulfill all standards

Step #5 Get the initial documentation:

Tech Stack & high-level architecture. During design of product architecture, we gather all technical documentation (a set of papers that describe how to create, install, configure and use a piece of software). In future this serves to structure on the backend your entire project

Step #6 Creating a product development plan and estimating time and expenses are the final steps in this process

A product roadmap is a flowchart that shows how your product will be built from start to finish. It is designed to give you an easy to implement software development plan and provides total transparency regarding project schedules, major phases and milestones. Our team also gives a detailed resource and cost estimates for the project and looks at ways to reduce those costs as well

Upon completion of discovery, you will have the following:

• Preliminary Cost and Time Estimation for a Prototype
• Base Roadmap
• Architecture documentation
• Product Requirement Document

What is the best way to begin the process of product discovery?

It’s actually pretty simple. We’re here to help you every step of the way, from brainstorming ideas to launching your product. To guarantee that product development and launch go smoothly and under budget, we advise our clients to begin with exploration

FAQ After this article:

Which resources are evaluated during the Discovery Phase?

The first step in the discovery process is to gather and organize the customer’s needs and desires. An overview of the project’s scope and objectives provided to the team. In addition, the intended outcome and project success indicators briefly discussed. The discovery stage includes tasks such as conducting market research, identifying bottlenecks, and creating a first development specification

What goes next after the Discovery Phase?

Stages of the software project outlined below. The real development step begins once the discovery phase is complete. System requirements, basic UX prototype, and MVP development plan as well as preliminary estimates are all in place at this point

Why is CloudFlex so disruptive to the early stages of research?

Considering the needs of the final user, we design apps and web that put the needs of your users first. We never compromise on the quality of such apps and focused on the end software performance. Some of our services:

• Accurate business analysis

We first analyse and then develop

• We’re a team that’s all about the product.

We ensure that your app is tailored to the market and responds to user needs

• We stand up for the objectives of your project.

Every undertaking is a tale of romance. To ensure the success of your project, we put in an additional 150% of our effort.

• You’re always up-to-date on the most recent information

We constantly communicate the state of the project. We meet weekly or daily, our tools are Jira and Slack

Summary

Initial analysis and discovery are extremely important for your product to be successful, since they might discover things you might not have though about. Preparation is a 50% of your end success

CloudFlex is happy to support your software development, reach us out to get more!