What Is a Project Discovery Phase and Its Role in Software Development?

This post explains the role of the discovery phase in software development, how it should be conducted, and how Onix can facilitate the success of your software product development.

 

Many factors may contribute to a software project’s success: a suitable software development model, optimal dev team lineup and size, efficient communication, a faster product development process, UX/UI design best practices, thorough usability and performance testing, and more. However, it all starts at the discovery phase of a project.

Onix conducted the product discovery phase before building this white-label self-managed care solution

 

Project Discovery Phase in the Product Development Process 

Software development is a continuous process of conceptualizing and developing a product based on specific requirements and available resources. The discovery phase of a software development project deals exactly with these two factors.

 

Depending on the SDLC model, product development stages may be called differently and run simultaneously or consequentially. However, the discovery stage should always come first.

 

To explain the place and role of the discovery phase in a project, we need to put it in a broader context of the process that usually unfolds as follows: discovery, development, review, deployment, and maintenance. 

 

1. The discovery phase

In 2023, Wilbur Labs surveyed 150+ startup founders and analyzed data from CB Insights to learn why startups fail.

 

75% of the surveyed founders who faced potential business failures admitted that they were not adequately prepared. Along with running out of money and insufficient financing, the following reasons for failure were identified:

 

• A product without a business model (27%)
• No market need (17%)
• Legal challenges (16%)
• Competition (16%)
• Discord among the team or investors (14%)
• Pricing/cost issues (14%)
• User-unfriendly product (13%)
• Wrong team (13%)
• Mistimed product (11%) 

 

The discovery phase of a software project involves gathering and analyzing information about a product, its target audience, and the market to form a thorough understanding of its goals, scope, limitations, and budget before the proper development process begins.

 

During the startup development discovery phase, the client and the engineering team usually intensively brainstorm and agree on the features of a minimum viable product (MVP) for a web or mobile app – the best way to market-test an idea for an app at minimum cost. They define the future product through its specification, architecture, and design.

 

They also develop a project plan that helps create time and budget estimates. The deliverables of the IT discovery phase can also help attract funding, which is a significant starting point for creating a successful product.

Moreover, the client can get to know the team better during regular communication and discussions. If both sides find out they are not a great fit, a switch with minimal impact is possible.

 

After the project requirements have been formulated and a project plan approved, software designers and engineers can start working. 

  

2. The product development stage

This stage proceeds according to the approved plan, client requirements, and incremental reviews. It is a blessing for developers to have a step-by-step plan they can keep to.

 

For the client, this plan means the ability to check the timeline with all deliverables and deadlines, seeing how an idea for a product becomes an actual product.

 

 

3. The review phase

The team members find errors or defects and fix them so that the product meets the requirements defined during the discovery phase of the project.

 

4. The deployment phase

Now, the team has to deliver the product to users. Before releasing it to the market, the team may move the product through additional testing or staging deployment environments.

 

It is possible to play with it safely and clean up any remaining mistakes that may jeopardize its success. Upon release, a product that went through a proper IT discovery process will be less likely to fail in the market.

 

5. The maintenance phase

This constant process guarantees consistency of the product’s quality and reliability. However, as time goes by, the product grows, and the market changes, the requirements and needs may need to be revised, prompting another discovery phase in the project.

 

Although it is regarded as a standard part of the software development process, sometimes clients neglect or skip the discovery phase for various reasons. This may be a grave mistake because they miss out on the benefits a proper discovery can yield. 

 

The Benefits of Discovery Phase in Software Projects

The importance of a professionally performed IT project discovery phase manifests in the following advantages:

 

Smoother, faster, and more effective development

When the team relies on a set of requirements established through consultative processes, they can develop a more detailed specification, wireframes, and a step-by-step plan that facilitates smoother and faster development. 

 

The development can take off with clearly defined milestones and possibly lower costs. As the saying goes, well-planned is half done.

A week-long project discovery phase helped select the optimal technology stack for NowWhat 

 

For instance, when Onix’s client Dr. Zach Dovey decided to create an algorithm-matched platform for people dealing with similar health issues, he wasn’t sure what technology to use.

 

Onix’s experts suggested a 40-hour exploration period. One programmer tried several technologies to build a demo version of the forum until the most suitable tech stack was selected for further product development.

 

Learn more: Mobile App Development Tech Stack: Best for 2025

 

Regular communication and in-depth discussions help establish two-way trust early in the project, promoting a smooth collaboration. A productive IT discovery phase that involves the development team from the project onset also helps set the focus necessary for efficient and timely delivery.

 

Risk reduction

Suppose you hire a digital agency to conduct the discovery phase for you before contracting them for the proper software development. In that case, you can see whether they can be a competent and reliable partner. You can also validate your project idea with potential users instead of going ahead with mere assumptions. 

 

Effective communication and a shared understanding of the product and project goals established at the earliest stage reduce the risk of misunderstandings and mistakes.

 

Clear goals help control requirements changes that increase expenses. A coherent project plan developed during the discovery stage further lowers the risks of scope creep, missed deadlines, and money loss.

 

Cost-efficiency

A proper product discovery phase is a time- and money-saving investment. Accurate documentation and a team that knows all the ins and outs of a project since its conception can help considerably reduce the cost of software development.

 

A clear early understanding of the project goals and requirements dramatically reduces the need for changes during the advanced stages of the development process when they are more costly.

 

Better final product

The product discovery helps understand the end-users’ needs, requirements, preferences, and tastes. These are the prerequisites for creating a product that more people will like, use regularly, and pay for.

 

When the team has an in-depth understanding of the project background and sufficient time, they can develop, suggest, and discuss better technical solutions and value-added features.

 

There are also cases when failure to conduct a professional software development discovery phase can prove fatal to an entrepreneur’s effort.

 

When the IT Project Discovery Phase Is Indispensable

 

A company’s first-ever software development project

The IT discovery process executed by experienced professionals is especially beneficial for companies and startups that don’t have in-house IT teams or any experience in a particular type of software development.

 

Cooperation with an experienced team during the discovery phase of a software project will give the client a clear understanding of aligning their business goals with the end-users’ needs, optimal user experience (UX), product development stages, and what results they can expect.

 

A team with a solid industry understanding can spot issues and challenges that might be overlooked otherwise, predict possible risks, and suggest ways to address them promptly. 

 

An existing system is rebuilt

In this case, legacy code review and other methods of discovery will help understand the system’s current state, strengths, and weaknesses and define the scope for transformation.

 

Experts will provide recommendations for improvement, detect potential bottlenecks and risks, and work through the most effective solutions. A clearly defined scope of work will also facilitate critical decision-making by the project team, the company’s upper management, marketers, and others.

 

The white-label healhcare mobile app built by Onix is an example. Years before this project, Onix had developed a similar web solution for the same Australian client.

 

When they decided to make a mobile app, the previous codebase and design were outdated. The new project required developing an infrastructure for multiple branded apps, building the apps from scratch, and reinventing the UX.

 

 

The new discovery phase steps included 

 

• the UX review 
• developing a detailed user flow
• defining MVP scope
• estimating the necessary resources
• specification writing

 

Our team initially had insufficient information to estimate a mobile app budget. So, they based the estimation not on development hours but on the number of developers needed to complete the project by the strict deadline. They discussed the possibility of allocating additional human resources with the client but ended up finishing the project on time at a lower cost.

 

The software is complex and innovative

If the desired solution integrates unique combinations of third-party APIs, software libraries, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), smart sensors, or other innovative or complex technology, a team of specialists may provide the necessary consultations, research, and support for innovative software development. 

 

 

The project’s requirements are vague or evolving

Occasionally, entrepreneurs have a brilliant high-level business idea but aren’t sure how to best meet the end-users’ needs. The discovery phase facilitates future product planning from the user perspective, ensuring user satisfaction, retention, and loyalty down the line. 

 

It’s reasonable to entrust the job to a reliable software development team that has built dozens of custom solutions. An experienced team can also identify and suggest the most suitable tools and technologies to make your idea a reality.

 

The project requires Proof of Concept (PoC)

A proof of concept is the evidence that a solution can be implemented and be a commercial success. If the solution employs cutting-edge technologies or APIs that haven’t been used for this purpose before, a PoC will help test its feasibility. 

 

The business case, competition, and target audience analysis done at the discovery stage facilitate the rapid creation of solutions based on market needs instead of spending months and wasting money on a potentially stillborn product. A prototype built during the discovery phase can provide quick feedback from real users and investors.

 

BSTEVR, an NFL game simulator built by Onix, had that type of software discovery phase.  BSTEVR founders envisioned a web application that would simulate games that wouldn’t have happened in real life, even calculate the points that players might score, and generate descriptions of the games’ key points.

 

One of Onix's leading developers analyzed the project documentation, devised a solution, and quickly coded a demo version of the complex mechanism. Convinced of the feasibility of their idea and our competence, the founders decided to contract Onix to build the MVP.

 

 

The project’s budget is limited

During the IT project discovery phase, experienced professionals can help define the product’s essential architecture and functionalities to implement, laying aside all redundant features.

 

After evaluating the product development or extension cost, they can suggest ways to reduce overall expenses and warn of possible hidden costs and risks that might cause over-budgeting. 

 

The project discovery phase deliverables will also help make a stronger presentation for pitching to the board of directors or investors.

 

The Project Discovery Process

A whole team of specialists is involved in the discovery phase of projects, which may include a project manager, solutions architect, designers, web or mobile developers, AR/VR developers, and other tech leads as needed.

 

The customer’s role is to give the team all the initial data they need to start the work, answer multiple written questions, participate in strategic calls and other communication, and evaluate the resulting prototype. 

Every project requires an individual approach and different methods of discovery due to unique specifics and circumstances. However, standard discovery phase steps may be summarized as follows: 

 

1. Business analysis

To understand and define the problem and possible solutions, the team studies:

 

• Competition. It is important to test a product, albeit while still only a concept, against direct and indirect competition. Competitor research provides several angles to explore. The team may exploit and learn from the sensitive areas of the competition, unveil some unexplored opportunities, and bring valuable innovations to the future product.

 

• Users. The point is to get information about those who will use the future product, not from somebody’s idea of what users want. The gathered information may include the characteristics of potential users, the reasons they have to use the product, under what circumstances they may use it, and so forth.  

 

• Business. All the information the client can share about their business and the future product may be useful: analytical data, history of the business, internal processes, pain points, the customers’ impressions, etc.

 

Once the problem has been defined, it gets framed, and the product vision statement is born. 

 

2. System architecture design

The system architecture design defines how everything interacts within the software and how to use it. The technical vision of the product includes integrations and APIs, restrictions, localization, performance, scalability, and portability. 

 

Read also: Travel Booking APIs for Tourism Providers [Onix's Overview]

 

3. User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design

Based on the analysis of the target audience, competitors, and the client’s requirements, a UI & UX designer prepares a prototype demonstrating the interface and features of the future product more or less realistically.

 

4. Branding

Branding is a vital step in creating a unique product experience. The client and the dev team need to understand users better and to build better communication with them.

 

If the brand guidelines already exist, branding in the discovery phase of the project helps improve the way it works after dedicated analysis from the user’s perspective. 

 

At Onix, we typically organize two stages of a project discovery phase:

 

Stage #1

First, we elicit high-level requirements from the client’s product manager and preferably from top managers, users, and other stakeholders. It takes several meetings and surveys to find out, discuss, and formulate everyone’s needs.

 

If the task is to rebuild an existing system, we clarify the reasons and evaluate the current features, content, design, code, tech stack, customer feedback, internal documents, marketing and branding strategies, etc.

 

Onix’s experts study the target audience’s demographics and buying habits, the niche for the product, the competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling propositions. They also explore market surveys, trends, and other industry-specific information.

 

Stage #2

Based on the business objectives and system requirements formulated during Stage #1, the team prioritizes and approves the MVP’s main user stories and features. 

 

Learn more: How to Determine & Prioritize Features for MVP

 

The UX designer first creates user screen flows and then a prototype. 

 

Simultaneously, the solution architect and tech leads develop the most suitable architecture for it, propose the optimal technologies, determine the level of automation, continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline, and define and discuss with the client any technical limits to their goals.

 

If needed, they also develop PoC, the first programmed version of the future product, typically of one feature that raises concerns, to test its technical feasibility. 

 

Using the prototype and PoC, the team validates all assumptions and hypotheses from the perspectives of business analysis, user experience, and IT architecture. Finally, they approve the project scope, develop a project roadmap, and estimate the project timeline and budget.

 

 

We also distinguish between two types of discovery stages: when our specialists conduct the activities at the client’s facility and when they work remotely. As an outsourcing company, we have always preferred to conduct all activities, from the first discovery session to the development kick-off meeting, online.

 

Some Tips for a Better Project Discovery Process and Results

 

• It’s crucial to involve all the stakeholders in the process and ensure everyone can openly speak their mind.

 

• On complex projects, it’s recommended to involve the entire team that will design, program, test, and deploy the product in research, discussions, and planning or at least engage experts in each of the areas. 

 

• Clearly define the project discovery phase deliverables you expect at the end and make sure everyone understands the task.

 

• Listen to all and document all ideas and suggestions. 

 

• During the business analysis, there is no place for prejudice or bias; only raw data matters. 

 

• Do not rely solely on industry publications, stats, etc., which cannot give you an understanding of the users and their needs.

 

• Only real customers and users can help you prove or disprove any hypothesis about a software product. As many team members as possible should interact with as many users as possible, at least online.

 

• The research and planning phase should be proportional to a project's overall duration and budget. After a talk or two with the main stakeholders, it's possible to build a simple internal solution. If you plan to spend millions, it is reasonable to test ideas and technologies more thoroughly, plan for the longer term, etc.

 

 

How Onix Provides Product Discovery Services

There are three scenarios of Onix’s handling project discovery:

 

1. Onix’s team is contracted to build a product based on research and planning that the client conducted independently

Some clients would provide us with market research, a detailed description of the potential users and monetization strategy, product specifications, wireframes, or even a completed design and ready-to-go product strategy.

 

In the latter case, our research and planning may only last a few days but are still necessary as there are always more questions to address. 

 

More often than not, we need to review, discuss with the client, and slightly modify them as needed, as was the case with the METRO C&C and Fayno Market grocery app development.

 

Learn more: How to Create a Grocery App in 4 Steps

 

2. We carry out the IT discovery process for product development by Onix 

For example, when Eric Roberts, the founder of Сlubhouse, approached  Onix, he intended to create a fitness mobile app. But before making any important decisions, we proposed conducting a product discovery. Among other things, Onix’s team

 

• conducted surveys and interviews with users to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement
• explored data from existing systems and processes to gain insights into user behaviors
• discussed with stakeholders ways to meet users’ needs best
• created the initial user flow
• assessed the resources necessary for a successful implementation, such as team lineup, budget, timeline, etc.

One of the project discovery phase deliverables – a chart visualizing the users’ interactions with Сlubhouse

 

After the discovery phase’s research and discussions, the client decided that a website would be more suitable for his business and told Onix to proceed with designing and developing the fitness website. 

 

3. Onix provides research and planning as an independent service

Typically, clients that order IT project discovery mean to validate their product idea while testing the abilities and knowledge of a possible outsourcing partner with a minimum investment. A successful discovery stage should entail a contract for the design, programming, and subsequent SDLC activities.

 

The MiPaddle project is an example of this scenario. Two friends, paddle tennis coaches, decided to start online courses but didn’t know how to bring their idea to life. When they approached Onix, all they wanted was a project budget estimate.

 

We honestly told the client that we could not provide a precise budget estimate but could do the research and provide them with a technical specification, flow chart, and assessment of an MVP development scope in man/hours.

 

It would not oblige them to contract Onix for the project execution but would prepare them for choosing the best contractor. Having clear project requirements, the client could reach out to multiple contractors, explain the task quickly, ask for quotes, and eventually choose the most suitable one.

 

The job took two weeks, including three phone calls with the PM and the clients to elicit their requirements and make corrections to the collected information.

 

Satisfied with the project discovery process and results, the founders of MiPaddle decided to stay with Onix. Our team proceeded to develop the MVP and planned full-fledged product development.

 

Occasionally, Onix also provides the discovery service for a software project that will be completed by someone else: the client’s in-house programming team, freelancers, or another outsourced development company.

 

MiPaddle – a mobile app and website for paddle tennis enthusiasts that Onix built 

 

How Much Does a Discovery Phase Cost?

Generally, the cost of the services during the product discovery stage is either fixed or calculated based on the time spent and the experts’ hourly rates.

 

Onix bills the service according to the time-and-material pricing model. The product discovery phase usually lasts 2-6 weeks, depending on

 

• the information that was available initially
• the project’s complexity
• the expertise involved in the discovery phase (project management, web or mobile app design, programming, solutions architecture, etc.)
• the type and format of required deliverables

 

With Onix’s hourly rate of $35, a two-week IT project discovery phase will cost $2,800.

 

 

Summing Up the Importance of the Discovery Phase for Product Development

The software discovery phase is integral to successful and cost-effective product development.

 

It provides an opportunity for a client and a development team to define a baseline of a future product, document the project requirements, develop optimal technical solutions, and create a project plan. Eventually, it will help them ensure everything is done according to the plan and the final product meets all the requirements.

 

Still, when the world moves so fast, and everything changes so quickly, it is natural to want to get a product up and running as fast as possible. Startups may also wish to save funds by minimizing or skipping the project discovery phase. The consequences can often be painful. Most of the reasons why startups fail can be attributed to an inadequate discovery stage.

 

The discovery phase of projects is not about generating stacks of documentation but about bringing the client, the stakeholders, and the team together on the same page.

 

It can be viewed as building the foundation for the product’s success. Investing moderate time and money into getting to know your product better will pay off tenfold during the development and after the product launch.

 

Do you need technical expertise or professional advice on your future product’s viability? Not sure if your project budget will suffice? Wondering how to validate a software/app idea without building the product? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Onix’s experts to get your answers.

 

FAQ

 

What is the discovery phase of a software project?

The discovery/scoping phase or initial research is the preparatory stage of a software development project, preceding software development itself. Its goal is to collect and analyze information about a project to identify its vision, goals, and scope, dispel doubts, and prove assumptions.

 

What are typical discovery phase steps?

During the discovery phase of projects, the discovery team members collect information about the business and user needs, problems, and expectations, the intended market for the product, the target audience, rival products, etc., define the product’s features and all possible business and technical specifics, test ideas against the reality, and present their findings in the form of documentation needed to start the development process.

 

What projects require a full product discovery phase?

 

• A company’s first-ever software development project
• An existing system remake
• A complex and innovative software product
• A project that requires validation via a Proof of Concept
• Projects with vague or evolving requirements
• Projects with limited budgets

 

What are the benefits of a discovery phase for software development?

 

• Smoother, faster, and more effective product development
• Risk reduction and early mitigation
• Cost-efficiency
• Better final product

 

What methods of discovery are used most often?

 

• Discovery sessions with the client and key stakeholders
• User interviews
• User research
• Creation of customer personas
• Competitor analysis 
• Market and trends research
• Research into technologies, ecosystems, etc.
• Development of user stories, screen flow diagrams, etc. 
• Creation of wireframes
• Creation of a clickable prototype and its testing with users and stakeholders 
• Creation of a proof of concept
• Presentation and discussion of deliverables

 

Can Onix conduct my project discovery process?

Yes. Onix offers initial research and planning as a separate service.