Considering investing in a custom website, app, or other web design project?
Going through the discovery phase will be one of the first things you’ll do after choosing a web development company. During that time, you’ll be collaborating with web developers and designers to create the product you need.
Not sure what the discovery stage is? Or why you need it at all?
No worries.
In this post, we’ll answer these questions in a simple language. Plus, we’ll give you tips to ensure that your next web development project goes smoothly.
What is the Discovery Phase?
The “discovery” phase is the first step in web development projects. During this stage, you research and analyze how the future product will serve the needs of target users.
At that point, the project team needs to:
- Study insights from user research studies
- Understand the user’s problem or need at hand
- Discuss the needed functionality and write down technical requirements
- Come up with the best solutions for each user’s problem.
Other project stakeholders - business owners, product marketing teams, etc. - are also involved, which makes the discovery stage one of the most intense and laborious. The effort is justified, as “poorly documented requirements” is a top reason why software projects fail.
Top reasons why software projects fail. Credit: Statista
In some cases, businesses don’t have the resources to perform some aspects of user or market research on their own.
To complete these tasks, they turn to web development companies providing Research-as-a-Service (RaaS). It’s a cost-effective solution, especially for small businesses and startups, that also gives access to expertise.
Why Does the Discovery Phase Matter?
Here are six reasons why the discovery phase is critical for the success of web development and design projects.
- Avoid Mistakes and Misunderstandings
The discovery phase is a period where everyone comes together to discuss the project. Business owners, marketing managers, web developers, user experience testers - everybody needs to get on the same page.
By discussing everything during the discovery phase, you’re reducing the risk of costly misunderstandings happening later down the road. For example, “the business side” of the conversation can help developers understand the needs of intended users.
- Avoid Spending Money Needlessly
Understanding the goals and needs of users is a major goal of the discovery phase. By bringing both web developers and marketers together, it reduces the risk of you creating something that users don’t care about.
For example, marketers can help developers come up with the functionality that the target user should be interested in. Conversely, developers might propose a range of options to make that functionality easier to use.
Ultimately, the team should arrive at specific goals and points. That will help you save a lot of money in the long run.
- Know What You’ll Get
As a client, you will review and reject/approve each project detail. The developers will tell you exactly what product you’ll get in the end and when. Also, they will share a specific budget forecast and possible changes.
This information will help you manage your expectations better and avoid unnecessary surprises. With 55 percent of web development projects failing because of too many changing requirements, planning everything is critical.
Some changes might happen down the road, but you’ll be much more prepared, both expectation- and budget-wise.
- Define How Users will Convert
User journey mapping is a process of defining routes that users “take” within a digital product to get to conversion (or another goal). It’s a major part of the discovery phase and is also critical for your product’s success.
Let’s give you an example of a customer journey analysis.
Suppose you’re designing a SaaS app. For a person who is considering software options like yours, the journey might look like:
Google Search > Free trial registration page > Account creation > Product tour > Account Upgrade to Premium
Each of these - except for Google, of course - is a specific page on your website. Planning all pages this way means making each journey easier and more relevant for the user. All of this is done during the discovery phase.
Related content: Why Your Business Needs a Mobile App in 2020
- Analyze Competitors
Competitor analysis during the discovery plays two important roles. First, you can find out the best practices to use in your product. Second, you might find out the weaknesses of the competitors and fill the market gap.
Here’s a very basic competitor analysis to give you an idea (a travel agency website). It lists the most important features - their strengths.
- Competitor #1 [London, UK]: journey planner, online ticket purchase, personal accounts, built-in hotel search, and booking
- Competitor #2 [London, UK]: hotel map, taxi finder, public transportation map
- Competitor #3 [Liverpool, UK]: favorite places feature, hotel finder, and online pay feature.
By comparing and analyzing each important feature during the discovery phase, you can brainstorm and find ways to make a better product. Besides features, you should also investigate their marketing channels and strategies.
A final version of the competitor analysis could be as simple as a Google spreadsheet with all this data. This format is appropriate because you can share it with other stakeholders to allow making contributions.
- Optional: Get Prototypes
Your web development team can also create quick prototypes of the future product. It doesn’t have to be too fancy, but just enough to learn about the user experience.
Prototyping tools today allow designing models really quickly, so consider this step as a part of the discovery phase. Prototypes such as website models will help both developers and business owners understand how to create a great product.
Related content: The Importance of Prototyping for the Project
Discovery Makes a Difference
The discovery phase is a special project stage that helps you avoid wasting money and time. By discussing every project-related detail, you can define proper goals and target relevant user problems.
Here’s what you should get at the end:
- A list of system requirements (features, architecture, and technology stack)
- Complete customer journey maps
- UX prototypes representing the product’s interface and features
- MVP development plan and budget estimates
- Project roadmap: timeline and milestones.
Having this information will allow you to set clear goals and have a project vision. That’s why no self-respecting company or business ever do web development or design projects without the discovery stage.