// DISCOVERY WEEK
Discovery Week
A short first engagement, usually about a week, that establishes what you are building, what it is likely to take, and whether we are the right team to build it.
Many software projects run into difficulty before any code is written, usually because the people involved held different assumptions about what was needed and those assumptions were never written down. Discovery Week is designed to prevent that. It is a short, fixed first engagement in which we work closely with you, and at the end you receive an agreed scope, a clickable prototype and an estimate you can plan around. We recommend it as the first step for almost every new project, whatever its size.
How the week runs
On the first day we sit down with you to agree the goals of the project, who will use the software, and what it must do on launch day. We also list what can wait for a later version. That second list is often longer than clients expect, and it is where much of the saving on a project comes from.
Early in the week we look at how the work is done today, even if the current process is a WhatsApp group and a spreadsheet. That is your real process, and the new software has to fit it. Where possible we speak to the people who will use the system day to day, because they understand the practical details better than anyone.
From midweek we sketch the main screens and work through the flows between them, including the less common cases that are easy to overlook. By the end of the week those sketches have become a clickable prototype. We walk you through it, agree the scope with you and present the estimate.
What Discovery Week includes
The first deliverable is an agreed scope: a plain-language document setting out what is included, what is excluded and what has been deferred to a later phase. We keep it short enough to read in one sitting, so that everyone involved can understand and refer to it.
The second is a clickable prototype. It is not a working application, but you can use it on your phone, share it with colleagues or business partners, and test the idea with real people before you commit to the cost of building it.
The third is an estimate based on the agreed scope, with the underlying assumptions written down so that you can see where the risks lie. All of these remain yours to keep, whether or not you go on to build the project with us.
Why we recommend starting here
It is far less costly to spend a week establishing that a feature is not needed than to spend a month building it. Discovery Week also shows both parties whether we work well together. If it becomes clear that we are not the right fit, or that you do not need custom software at all, we will say so. In some cases an existing off-the-shelf product, properly set up, is the better answer.
An agreed scope also keeps the build on track. New ideas will come up during development, and when they do we can assess each one against the scope and decide with you whether it justifies the time, rather than allowing the work to grow gradually and delay the launch.
Who Discovery Week is for
Discovery Week suits founders with an idea but no technical co-founder, business owners whose spreadsheets can no longer keep up with the business, and teams who had a difficult experience with a previous developer and want to start again on a sound footing.
If you already have a detailed specification from another party, we will still want to work through it with you. We will be the ones looking after the finished software, so we need to understand the requirements as well as you do.
// FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What if I only have a rough idea?
That is common, and Discovery Week is designed for it. We will ask a lot of questions, and some of them you may not be able to answer yet. Working through those answers together is part of the purpose of the week.
Do I have to build the project with you afterwards?
No. The scope, prototype and estimate are yours. You can take them to another developer or put the project on hold. We would welcome the opportunity to build it, but the week is designed to be useful in its own right.
Can I skip Discovery Week and go straight to building?
For a very small, well-defined job, sometimes. For larger projects we recommend against it. Skipping discovery does not save time, because the open questions still have to be settled, and settling them during the build costs considerably more.
How much of my time does it need?
Enough to make the key decisions. You do not need to be with us for the whole week, but we will need you, or someone who can make decisions for the business, at the main sessions and the final walkthrough.
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