Blog

Discovery Phase with hedgehog lab

Date

26th August 2021

Read

4 min

Ray Clarke headshot
Creator

Ray Clarke

Many of our initial conversations with prospective clients who are looking to develop digital products whether it be a web platform or a mobile app include talking about our discovery phase. Many of our clients who choose to work with us follow a four-stage process that begins with discovery. 

Discovery is all about getting to the bottom of our clients’ business problems and under the skin of their customers to develop apps and digital products that delight both. 

Some clients find it quite daunting to unpick every aspect of their project. Others just want us to get to the build stage‚ and quick. 

Here‚ we’ll tell you exactly what will happen during the discovery phase and why we feel it’s an essential part of digital product development. 

What is discovery?

Discovery is the first step on the ladder to developing top-quality digital products from web platforms to mobile apps. 

It’s followed by foundation‚ build and scale – but we don’t do anything until we fully understand your business problem‚ your marketplace and your customers. 

Discovery is where we really get to know you‚ your business and your goals for the project. 

We’re looking to agree on a project scope that is fully understood by you and us. We need to be on the same page. 

We want to be clear about how the new product will integrate into any existing systems you have in the short and long term. The new product needs to work in your existing business. 

We want a solid direction for the user interface design based on your brand guidelines. The new product needs to fit your brand identity. 

We’re aiming to validate your idea‚ ensuring it’s fit for your customers‚ will work in your market and is going to solve the business problem you want to fix. 

What does discovery cover?

Discovery is led by one of our experienced product managers with input from a designer‚ user researcher and systems architect. Typically‚ we look at five key areas during discovery: 

  • Strategy – your key goals and messaging

  • Scoping – defining what we are actually going to build

  • User experience – defining and understanding your audience and looking at their user journey in the app. You can learn more about that here. 

  • Creative – the look and feel‚ assets‚ brand guidelines and design systems of your app

  • Technical – the technical requirements of the app plus any third-party integrations‚ security and analytics

  • Project management – everything we need to complete your project on time and on budget

This gives us a thorough understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve and the users you want to engage with. Our highly skilled product managers also ensure you know exactly what’s happening at every stage of the development process. 

Whether working in-person or remotely‚ we build strong relationships with clients through discovery that lead to accelerated decision making‚ reduced risk‚ reduced uncertainty‚ and time and cost savings. 

What you’ll get from discovery

We do a lot of talking in discovery. But we turn it into tangible insights that validate your idea and set it up for successful development.

We start with collaborative workshops then move into technical feasibility‚ product ideation and prototype validation before formalising the outcomes. 

This includes mapping your competitors and interviewing your customers. We investigate your hardware and software requirements and research your technical landscape. We map key scenarios and create user flows for your app. Prototype wireframes are created and tested. And a product roadmap is built and the system architecture is proposed. 

You’ll end the discovery phase with a clickable design prototype that addresses your business problem and meets your customers’ needs. 

You’ll also have an amazing relationship with our product managers who’ll really understand your business and champion your needs through the foundation‚ build and scale phases. 

Get in touch to find out how our world class app development team can help you create the best digital solution to solve your business problem. 

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