Discovery Phase – Why is It So Important to Master It?

It’s not a secret. Everybody does it. Planning, analyzing, brainstorming… A well-organized discovery phase can be the key that opens the door for particular projects to succeed. But why some companies do it better than others? Let’s shed some light on the problem.

Project discovery phase

Discovery Phase by Definition

It might sound weird, but every project should be discovered first before any serious commitments are taken. This is a discovery phase. It helps a company to understand the most vital details about its endeavor in order to complete it with as little turbulences as it is possible. Some executives want their project managers to handle the whole thing on their own, whereas others hire a proper team that specializes in the discovery phase for business. Guess who gets better results…

As we can see on the Internet, project discovery is a process that allows to identify target audience, for example, alongside their actual expectations towards particular types of products. It also provides business analysis and research that supports some ideas and disqualifies the wrong ones. This is the mistake that is very common during a project discovery phase – misunderstanding of values ideas really have.

A proper team with proper tools and experience will determine the true value of every concept.

In addition, the process consists of preparing software requirements specification, defining technical requirements, dividing tasks or predicting expenses and possible complications. In other words, the goal of a discovery phase is to get the most out of a project through proper preparation. It shows which building blocks are essential and which can be omitted, and how does it look in a time schedule and budget. A project manager with other employees should take part in all of this, of course.

Project manager holding a project kick-off meeting

The Key Benefits of The Project Discovery Phase That is Properly Managed

Benefits of mastering the discovery processes should be visible by now. The proper execution of the effort provides guidelines to avoid chaos and ensures that the entire project is laid out perfectly. Discovery phase is also an opportunity to find more effective solutions in order to create a product that is customized, 100% functional and fulfills its purposes – customer expectations included – in the best way.

That’s what the understanding of the project provides. That’s why giving a lot of attention to the discovery phase is so important. Those who decide to neglect it usually fail.