Technical Discovery Key Deliverables

The critical first step of a project is called the discovery phase, during which a team collects and evaluates data to establish objectives, parameters, and scope while lowering risks and uncertainties for further development. Before major development starts, a solid strategy with anticipated costs and timetables is created through market and user research, brainstorming, identifying potential problems, and creating a clear vision.

The following are the three primary categories of discovery:

1. Strategy discovery
2. Technical breakthrough
3. Product identification

Technical discovery is the main topic of this post.

The software development discovery phase is a crucial step in which future product’s key features, as well as any potential business and technical details, are defined. It is essential phase for:

• Development of new software products: To define the MVP and validate concepts.
• Complex projects: Regulatory restrictions, high scalability, or numerous integrations.
• Digital transformation initiatives: To bring outdated systems into line with contemporary technologies.
• Pivoting existing products: To explore new markets or features for existing product.
• Projects with uncertainty: Where user/market needs are not clear or it is not possible to draft final solution without deep research.

Key Deliverables of Technical Discovery

1. Deliverables that are essential for any technical discoveries include:
   • High-level system architecture for future expansion and scalability is shown in architecture diagrams.
   • Selecting the right tools and frameworks to meet technical and business objectives is known as tech stack analysis.
   • Finding possible technological risks, dependencies, and mitigation techniques is known as risk identification.
   • Infrastructure diagrams: illustrating both existing and planned infrastructure to provide scalability and system viability.
   • Setup and estimations of the product backlog: Prioritizing features and estimating development resources in an initial backlog.
   • Roles for the development team: determining the technical positions that are required, such as developers, DevOps, and QA experts.
2. Should-have deliverables include:
   • Input from technical experts on user stories.
   • Test plans and scenarios.
   • Product prototypes.
   • User experience documentation.
   • Project initiation document that describes the development phase’s goals, scope, and important stakeholders.

Selecting The Focus Of Discovery

• If a business’s strategy is unclear, strategy discovery is prioritized.
• Product discovery is crucial if user needs and UX direction are the primary priorities.
• If technical feasibility is questionable, then a technological discovery is required.