It is critical to find out all the boundaries and technical specifications for an accurate assessment of all aspects of the project before the start of development. It really takes a lot of time. If the IT company is faced with the task of prioritization reference, web vs app development, for example, then the discovery phase will help to determine the main advantages of each direction of development.
Managers will create a detailed map of work management – optimal time management is extremely important for completing the project on time. Detailed analytics will provide comprehensive information for evaluation by the customer – he will be able to give feedback and the team will be able to immediately start working. Each department must work on its own qualification direction to achieve maximum efficiency.
Who is participating in the Discovery phase
The discovery phase is common for all participants in the development project, including the client company. In general, at this stage, all development participants should communicate most closely for the entire period of work on the project. Thanks to a detailed discussion and analysis of the main problems and aspects of the project, the analytics will be presented in exact numbers, which will make it possible to evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages of working on different nodes of the platform or application.
Now by department:
- Managers, in conjunction with technical specialists, must submit a detailed roadmap of the interconnections of all separate nodes. A detailed analysis of the platform or website being developed at the stage of cost planning and delegation of tasks will make it possible to evaluate all development risks and identify the most problematic nodes to pay more attention for;
- Designers must submit UI/UX as early as possible. The preliminary layout must be shown to the client and submitted as a linked model, a map of all interface aspects and optional features. The discussion of the design model with the customer usually takes place a little later and in a separate mode, but the sooner the client sees the first layouts of his future project, the sooner it will be possible to evaluate all aspects of the impact of design on the technical side of the project and it’s further release success;
- Managers and team leads need to create a detailed business cycle model. Due to the opportunity to present the team work “on a silver platter”, it guarantees the proper involvement of the customer in the development of his platform;
- Programmers and technicians should submit a working preliminary model of each stage of development. Thanks to the presentation of the material in the form of clear infographics, the client can immediately give feedback and indicate those places that require special attention. Saving time and money is guaranteed.
Discovery phase positive effect
Too many people are unfamiliar with the intricate software development processes. It may seem that the discovery phase is superfluous as if the complexity and cost of the entire project increases. But if you look at the numbers before and after integrating the discovery phase into the development cycle, it becomes clear that the positive effect is the same as from Quality Assurance services.
Taking into account the direct involvement of the customer, the discovery phase has the following positive effects on the development process:
- The project budget will be submitted much more accurately. Due to accurate numbers, the client will be able to prioritize all aspects of the development and mark those places that require additional budget injections. Effective feedback will provide enough information to both parties, which will have an extremely positive impact on the final version of the project;
- Contingency costs are also taken into account and presented as a risk schedule. Investment insurance of the client company guarantees the budget return estimations, and as a result, leads to a complete understanding between the parties to the development of the project. This has an excellent effect on the final result and its quality;
- The development business process, presented simply and clearly, will give a general idea of all the pros and cons of the application or platform being developed. Thanks to the preliminary analysis of all data, the developer company will be able to allocate time more efficiently and the total development time is reduced by an average of one third;
- Estimating additional costs such as product testing and the need to purchase additional hardware determines the overall development budget and ensures effective feedback.
Discovery phase advantages:
- Increasing the percentage of exact hits in the development budget and the client desires greatly improves the model of interaction with clients. It increases both the level of the reputation of the development team and their payment as qualified specialists. Professional management is paid accordingly;
- Validation of the seriousness of the developers’ intentions. Discovery phase is an important business process when dealing with complex, multi-level tasks. By following the philosophy of working out all stages of the development cycle, the developer company will be able to boldly take on serious projects that require many thousands of hours of work;
- Increasing the number of recurrent clients.
