The discovery phase in software development: Why do startups need it?

According to McKinsey, 45% of software development projects exceed their estimated budget. For a startup, the path to success is long and tortuous, and budget overruns or failure to meet delivery deadlines can be a fatal blow. What can you do to reduce these risks for your startup?

What is the Discovery Phase in terms of software development?

The discovery phase is the first stage of software development. It involves the project team and top managers working together to collect and produce the necessary data, identify the product architecture, functional and non-functional requirements, select the stack, estimate costs, and plan project development. At this stage, we guarantee that each team member is 100% on the same page, that ideas will be developed in the most efficient and cost-effective way, and that we have discovered and accounted for all the unknowns from the very beginning.

The project team is involved throughout the entire development lifecycle of the project, starting with the opening. Depending on the nature of your product, the team may include a business analyst, Scrum and Scrum Master, solution architect, UI/UX designer, web developers, mobile developers, machine learning/artificial intelligence leaders, blockchain technology leaders, etc.

The project discovery phase helps reduce risks and minimize costs, as well as ensure that the product is technologically perfect for the market.

Let’s define the goals of the discovery phase in software development.

Main goals:

Develop the architecture and functionality to be implemented. From a software development perspective, this is the most important goal of the discovery phase. At this stage, the main functional points are determined, while all redundant or redundant elements are postponed. That’s where working with experienced professionals really pays off.

Make a detailed cost estimate for the project. Once the basics of the software product are clearly laid out, you can estimate the project budget. Software development is a complex process. It is very difficult to estimate the project cost and development time without a thorough analysis of the overall concept, business situation, goals, technical details and requirements. When you take the time at the beginning and gather all the details of the project in one place to see the maximum possible final cost, the hidden costs and risks become visible. This way, you won’t have to deal with either unplanned expenses or an excessive budget.

A well-defined scope of work is the main result of discovering the project, how and in what order it will be done, how long it will take, and what resources and people you need to implement the project. The project team, as well as clients, senior management, and marketing teams, can use these recommendations to make important decisions.

Here are some of the results you can expect to get in the agile discovery phase:

• Solution Vision Document
• Software Requirements Specification
• Architectural design
• UB frame construction
• Release plan and detailed cost estimate
• Risk assessment and mitigation plan
• Prototype
• Review of outdated code with recommendations for improvement

To better illustrate the importance of the discovery process, let’s briefly describe the actions it entails.

What activities are included in the project discovery phase?

Once at the stage of opening your project. Crypton.Studio has built a solid process over the years, and it works for our customers and us every time. The steps are not set in stone, but we recommend following them for best results.

1. Free consultation

This initial phase of our communication is critical, and we will do our best to provide as much value as possible. We will analyze your business plan, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the project, evaluate the market and competition, map user travel, and chart the right course to your goals.

There are several bases we need to cover.:

• What is the mission 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 success indicators of your project?
• What is your competition in the market, if any?
• What features and interface do you need?
• What technologies should I use?

There may be other topics on the agenda, but the idea is to fully understand the project and make sure we are on the same page with what we want to achieve. By the way, user research is only half the job. It is equally important to visualize the data so that everyone can understand its meaning. Stakeholders love it.

The effort we put into this stage will lead to a preliminary assessment of your project.

2. Artifact analysis

It’s unlikely that your project is a blank slate at the moment, so we want to take a good look at everything you’ve created so far. This includes documentation about the project’s vision, requirements, and processes, as well as any legacy code you may have. We are not curious — as partners, we both need a starting point to move forward confidently.

3. Review of outdated code

You may wonder: why does this deserve a special mention? Because writing big code is an art, and we have to build on the work of artists before us. It’s not about neglecting other people’s work; we want this project to have a solid foundation, and sometimes that means taking things apart first. Our development team will provide you with qualified and unbiased feedback. By eliminating bugs and shortcomings, we can reduce future development risks and ensure that you get a product that combines stability and high performance.

4. Workshop

It’s time for you to get to know the team and work with our experts. We will join forces to turn your business goals into actionable project elements, as well as create a detailed release plan. First, we need to carefully examine your business goals and match your ideas with the chosen technology. We will then define the use cases and user interactions to move on to defining the system and user requirements. There is a lot of work to be done, and as a result, we will get the following results:

• Documentation for the vision and notes to the seminar
• User stories with a high-level description
• Architectural design, UI / UX design ideas and recommendations
• Description of functional requirements
• User stories with acceptance criteria
• Usage examples
• Frame structure
• Release Plan

Let’s work out a strategy together and delve into the details.

5. UI/UX Design

At this stage, we will create wireframes-schematic representations of the design of your future web application or mobile application. You will be able to see the structure of your product and get a better idea of what kind of user experience it will provide. The main screens, navigation, and general logic will all become apparent at this stage. Of course, our experts will be open to suggestions and feedback to ensure that the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) or prototype meets your expectations.

6. Prototyping/Proof of concept

A Proof of concept (POC) is a version of your future product with very limited functionality-a guarantee that it can actually be built using the chosen technology to achieve its goal. With POC, your key stakeholders (investors, partners) will see that creating a product is technically feasible.

The prototype is focused on the appearance of the product; it is more about the subtleties of design and the usability of the application. As a rule, it is built to show stakeholders how users will interact with the application.

7. Architecture

At this stage, we need to lay the foundation, prepare a project that our team will use to create your product. It is time to make a choice about the technologies we will use, the structural elements of the product, and their internal connections. Choosing the right infrastructure architecture is crucial, and any deviations or changes in the future can entail significant costs.

8. Software Requirements Specification (SRS)

Why do you need a SRS document? Because without him, none of them will not survive. Here are some of the things that a typical SRS covers:

• Defines the purpose and scope of the project
• Description of the product functions and interface
• All functional and non-functional requirements are clearly listed
• Coordinates the efforts of different teams

Simply put, the SRS document is a binding agreement between stakeholders and a guiding light for future project managers.

9. Planning

We now have a very good idea of what our goal is, what technical means we will need to achieve it, and how we will use them. At this final stage of the discovery process, we will summarize our findings and create a detailed plan for managing time, budget, human resources, and possible risks. As soon as we have a plan, the project will be launched.

Now that you know the ins and outs of opening a product, you won’t even think of skipping it, right?

What is your Choice: open or Not?

When you take a closer look at the overall importance of the discovery stage for startups, it becomes clear that the benefits it provides are crucial for the business. Project discovery helps reduce the overall project budget and also ensures that deadlines are met by performing detailed analysis before coding and designing the interface.