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guides

What a discovery phase produces, and why it is yours

Discovery is the cheapest place to be wrong. Changing a diagram costs an hour; changing a live integration costs a month.

Outcomes

  • Stakeholder interviews and current-process mapping
  • Requirements with acceptance criteria
  • Solution architecture and integration map
  • Risk register including compliance obligations
  • Phased delivery plan with budget per phase
  • A written recommendation, including not building

Problems this solves

Estimates without evidence

Discovery replaces a guess with a scope, a risk list and a band derived from the actual workflow.

Hidden integration surprises

System access, data quality and third-party limits are checked before a build is committed to.

Unclear success criteria

The operational target the project is justified on is written down and agreed.

How delivery runs

  1. 01

    Interviews

    The people doing the work daily, not only the sponsors.

  2. 02

    System and data review

    Integrations, data quality, hosting and current pain points.

  3. 03

    Scope and plan

    Phased plan with the first usable release identified explicitly.

  4. 04

    Estimate band

    A defensible range with the assumptions and exclusions written out.

Realistic timeline

Week 1

Interviews and system review.

Week 2

Scope, risks, plan and band.

What moves the price

Number of workflows

Each process area adds interviews and documentation.

System access delays

Waiting for credentials is a common reason discovery stretches.

Deliverable format

A working memo costs less than a tender-ready specification.

Where projects go wrong

Discovery that never ends

Time-boxed to one or two weeks; open questions become risks with owners, not reasons to continue analysing.

Output nobody can act on

Discovery ends with a first phase scoped tightly enough to start, with us or anyone else.

FAQ

Questions buyers ask

Do we have to continue with you afterwards?+

No. The output is yours and can be taken to any supplier. We deduct the fee if you continue with us.

How long does it take?+

Two to three weeks for most projects; longer only for multi-country or heavily regulated scope.

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discovery phase software development