Discovery Phase in Software Development in Practice

According to the Standish Group report, about 66% of software projects fail. The McKinsey report found that 45% of software development projects exceed their estimated budget. The reasons for project failure and going over budget vary from unrealistic expectations and cost estimates to poor planning and requirements management.

However, there are strategies and industry-standard methods to prevent failure, foresee possible issues, and mitigate risks. One of the most useful and applied methods is the project discovery phase. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the discovery phase in software development and why it matters. We also consider the main stages, benefits, and deliverables of the discovery phase based on our own example.

Table of contents:

1. What is the discovery phase in software development
2. Why is the Discovery Phase Crucial?
3. When You Need Discovery Phase?
4. Key Steps of the Discovery Phase
5. Who Is Involved in the Project Discovery Phase Team?
6. How Long Does the Discovery Phase Take in Software Development?
7. How to Calculate the Cost of Product Discovery Phase?
8. Summary

What is the discovery phase in software development?

So, what is the discovery phase meaning in a project development life-cycle? The project discovery phase is the initial step in software product development. It allows everyone involved in the software development process to create a shared understanding of the project goals and requirements as well as helps to reduce software development costs.

The discovery phase in software development focuses on determining the scope of work, building the product architecture, identifying functional and non-functional requirements, choosing a tech stack and team composition, estimating costs, and creating a project development plan. Also, the discovery phase allows you to get better to know a development team. Moreover, regular communication and in-depth discussions of a project with the development team help clarify essential details and establish trust.

Why is the Discovery Phase Crucial?

If you have doubts about the importance of project discovery phase in software development, let’s take a look at the benefits of incorporating the discovery phase into the software development process, as well as the potential and highly probable consequences of abandoning this stage.

As you can see, the goal of the discovery phase is to help understand a project better, optimize a budget, and reduce risks. This phase helps you and a development team clearly define what they need to create, how long it will take, and what result they will get. Starting software development without the discovery phase is like reaching your destination without a pre-selected route. It will take much more time and effort.

To be honest, to pay less at the end is to pay more at the beginning. And as we know, quality always costs, and we all know about it. There are plenty of teams and individuals you can onboard, but as market conditions change rapidly, this becomes harder and harder. Even experienced teams sometimes can’t keep up with all the innovations.

Herman Stogniiev, CTO and Co-founder of IdeaSoft

When You Need Discovery Phase?

The discovery phase in software development is essential in the following cases:

• Launching a new project. With it, you ensure a comprehensive understanding of target users and market needs.
• Entering a new market. With it, you gain insights into market trends, competition, and customer expectations.
• Developing an innovative product. With it, you validate unique ideas and technological feasibility.
• Complex project requirements. With it, you clarify intricate details and potential challenges.
• Mitigating risks. With it, you identify and address potential risks early in the process.
• Aligning stakeholders. With it, you ensure all team members and stakeholders have a unified vision and understanding of project goals.

If you have any questions regarding the software discovery process, IdeaSoft can help you.

Key Steps of the Discovery Phase

Now that you know about the discovery phase in software development let us tell you more about our approach. IdeaSoft treats each project as a unique case and provides a full range of software development services, from business analysis and design to programming, testing, and support. Let`s discuss the discovery phase steps at our IdeaSoft team.

Initial phase: Empathize, Define, Ideate

The main task here is a complete understanding of the project’s goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Based on this data, we can create a product that meets your business needs. During this phase, together, we will find answers to fundamental questions:

• What is the Business Idea of your software project? 
• What unique value does it bring to the market?
• Who is your target audience, and how can you best meet their needs?
• What are the business metrics of your project’s success?
• Who are your competitors in the market, if any?
• What features and interface do you want?
• What technologies should be used?

Our experts thoroughly analyze the input data and research the target audience and market, competitors, trends, industry standards, client brand specifics, and existing infrastructure. Therefore, the analysis allows you to find the project’s strengths and weaknesses and make it more attractive to engage customers by filling the gap that other products have missed.

Technical Validation

When it comes to technical verification activities during this phase, they are designed to validate and confirm the technical feasibility and requirements of the project:

• Technical Requirements Analysis
• Technology Feasibility Study
• Technical Risk Assessment
• Performance Assessment
• Technical Dependencies Analysis
• Resource Estimation

Our senior developers discover all the possibilities and pitfalls of your future project, forming a profound action plan.

Wireframing

While the preliminary wireframes received are helpful and provide an excellent overview of the platform to be developed, we will work on detailed wireframes during the discovery phase.

As a result of this stage, you will receive 10-15 wireframes detailing this flow. These wireframes, combined with the provided ones, will produce a comprehensive overview of the system to be developed.

Testing Approach & Areas

During this phase, we determine the approach to testing the solution and ensure it is comprehensive and systematic. We also work through functionality, performance, security, and usability. Aspects covered during this phase are:

• Precise goals. We ensure both functional and non-functional features are tested, and medium or higher priority bugs are eliminated before the MVP phase.
• Strategic testing. Our test strategy includes a description of scenarios, test cases, criteria for passing tests, and regression testing for optimal results.
• Testing approach. We validate the need for manual and/or automated testing to ensure optimal return on the selected approach.
• Transparent reporting. We develop a system for analyzing test results and bug reports, as well as their severity and priority, to ensure constant product improvement and timely, transparent communication with our clients.

This way, our IdeaSoft team ensures your MVP will have as few bugs as possible.

MVP Planning

At this stage, we have to draw a parallel between your business goals and tech solutions for the project and form a winning mix. As a result of this stage, you will get the following deliverables:

• Vision documentation and workshop notes
• PBIs (Product Backlog Items)
• List of non-functional requirements
• Architecture design
• Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
• Release plan
• Wireframes (10-15 screens)
• Testing Approach & Areas
• Release plan and cost estimate

After summarizing our findings and completing the technical validation, we will develop a detailed plan for managing time, budgets, human resources, and potential risks for the MVP phase. Once we have a plan, the project is ready for development.

Who Is Involved in the Project Discovery Phase Team?

Project manager, product manager, technical specialist, and, of course, you are involved in the software discovery phase. The more actively you are involved, the better the system can be modeled. Daily calls at this stage are a requirement rather than a recommendation.

• Project manager (PM). This specialist ensures that the project is manageable and clearly defines its goals and objectives. PM forms the project plan and budget, coordinates and synchronizes all participants, communicates with stakeholders, monitors the progress of work, makes necessary adjustments, and maintains reports.
• Business analyst. During the discovery stage, he/she researches the market and competitors’ solutions, defines the product’s target audience and its needs, describes the product’s functionality and holistic vision, and forms a roadmap for its development.
• Developers (department leads). A representative of the software development team provides technical expertise. He helps to assess the possibilities of practical realization of the required functionality in terms of costs and time, defines architecture and technologies, and prototypes and tests potential solutions.

This is not an exhaustive list. The software development discovery phase may also require the involvement of business analysts, marketers, UI/UX designers, and data science specialists to work with data and real-world consultants who can provide all the necessary information for the project.

How Long Does the Discovery Phase Take in Software Development?

At IdeaSoft, we offer a discovery phase lasting 2 or 4 weeks. Small-scale projects with well-defined goals may require a shorter discovery period. In contrast, large-scale or highly innovative projects might need an extended discovery phase to thoroughly explore all necessary aspects.

Your involvement during the discovery phase:

1. Kickoff meeting. The objective of this meeting is to establish a foundation for our partnership. We will discuss your product idea, determine the RACI matrix, and set the collaboration plan.
2. Regular syncs. We will have 2-3 meetings weekly, which will be used to hold workshops. These workshops will include Business Analysis Workshops, Technical Discussions (as needed and with the detalization level you’d like this to be), Wireframing presentations, and iterations.
3. Discovery phase completion. At the end of the discovery phase, we will finalize our initial exploration and provide discovery deliverables for your review. Dedicating time to this part is best for optimal momentum. After this, we will transit into the implementation phase.

So, now you know how long does the discovery phase take in software development. At IdeaSoft, we try to make the discovery phase as comfortable for the client as possible. You can securely outsource software development to our team and end up with an awesome software product.

How to Calculate the Cost of Product Discovery Phase?

Curious about how much does a discovery phase cost? Here are the factors influencing discovery phase costs:

• Resource costs. These are salaries, benefits for the product team (managers, designers, researchers), etc.
• External tools. These are the costs of software or services used for user research, prototyping, etc.
• Travel expenses. These are the costs associated with user research activities like interviews or testing. At IdeaSoft, we also offer a possibility of conducting an offline workshop where our core team members will concentrate on your prodject idea and create a detailed and customized launch plan along with dedicated discovery phase & team composition set up.

You can ask our IdeaSoft team for the discovery phase price for your project.

Project discovery phase deliverables

At IdeaSoft, we provide the following discovery phase deliverables:

• Vision documentation and workshop notes
• PBIs (Product Backlog Items)
• List of non-functional requirements
• Architecture design
• Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
• Release plan
• Wireframes (10-15 screens)
• Testing Approach & Areas
• Release plan and cost estimate

Our company has a team of experienced business analysts who will gladly help you set the stage for a successful launch of your project. Our designers will create an exceptional interface for your application or platform that your users will love. IdeaSoft’s experienced developers will implement the conceived features in the best possible way using selected technologies, and QA specialists will ensure that your product is flawless.

Summary

We always advise our clients not to skip the discovery phase service for software development, as it helps you organize your project and see its strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities. With a clear work plan, you can create your software product, go to market faster, and achieve success in a shorter time frame. 

Feel free to check out our software development services or contact us to discuss your project. We’ll be excited to work with you.