Discovery Phase
These playbooks outlines the different types of project management and software development processes we can offer clients, dependent on their needs. The goal is to price projects in a way that’s profitable, manages client expectations effectively, and reduces day to day stresses on everyone.
By knowing the customer’s preferred style of working, we can craft a good proposal.
Projects are typically structured as follows:
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Discovery Phase Learning, consulting, designing and scoping
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Delivery Phase Development, testing and deployment
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Maintenance Phase Bug fixing, maintenance, support
By knowing the customer’s preferred style of working, we can craft a good and profitable proposal built from suitable phased approaches to projects.
This should be regarded as a mandatory, non-negotiable first step. Discovery de-risks the project for both you and the client when there are unknowns.
Our options are:
- Waterfall scoping and design project (fixed price, 2-4 weeks)
- Consulting retainer (flexible pricing, ongoing)
Waterfall Discovery
Section titled “Waterfall Discovery”This Discovery Phase is a fixed-scope, fixed-price engagement that serves as the foundation for the entire project. The primary objective is to de-risk the project for both the agency and the client by thoroughly defining the project’s scope, requirements, and technical approach before committing to the full build. This phase is conducted using a waterfall methodology to ensure a structured and predictable process with clear deliverables.
Customer Profile
Section titled “Customer Profile”Who’s it best suited to? TODO
Purpose
Section titled “Purpose”-
Clarify Vision: Ensure stakeholders share understanding of project goals, users, and short/long-term success criteria.
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Define Scope: Produce a detailed feature list and user journeys to establish a clear project scope.
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Technical Planning: Design the system architecture and identify the appropriate technology stack.
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Risk Mitigation: Proactively identify and assess potential risks, and develop mitigation strategies.
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Budget Confidence: Provide the client with a reliable budget range for the Delivery Phase, reducing estimation errors.
Outputs
Section titled “Outputs”The key deliverables of the Discovery Phase include:
| Deliverable | Description |
|---|---|
| User Journeys | Detailed narratives describing how users will interact with the software to achieve their goals. |
| Feature List | A comprehensive and prioritised list of all features to be included in the project. |
| Technical Architecture | A diagram and description of the system’s structure, components, and technology stack. |
| Risk Assessment | A document identifying potential project risks (technical, operational, market) and outlining mitigation strategies. |
| Delivery Roadmap | A high-level timeline that breaks down the project into milestones and estimates the delivery schedule for major features. |
| Budget Ranges | A detailed cost estimate for the Delivery Phase, presented as a range (e.g., optimistic, pessimistic, realistic) to manage expectations. |
At the end of the Discovery Phase, the client has a complete blueprint for their project and a clear understanding of the investment required. This allows them to make an informed decision before proceeding to the Delivery Phase.
How to Price It
Section titled “How to Price It”By charging for this phase, we filter for serious clients, get paid for our strategic thinking, and dramatically reduce the estimation errors that have been hurting our margins.
TODO
How to Sell It
Section titled “How to Sell It”TODO
How to Implement It
Section titled “How to Implement It”-
Break big problems into chunks: Don’t try to eat the whole elephant, plan your way through.
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Stakeholder Workshops: Scheduled intensive sessions with the client to define business goals, user personas, and map out high-level user journeys.
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Decide on Delivery: Knowing what you know about the client, decide on the plan for the next phase.
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Technical & Design Exploration: Your team investigates technical feasibility, designs the core architecture, and creates low-fidelity wireframes to establish a visual direction.
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Scope of Work: Collaboratively create a detailed scope of work OR prioritised feature list (the initial product backlog).
Link to legal template: TODO
Consulting Retainer
Section titled “Consulting Retainer”Instead of a single, fixed-price contract for scoping and design work, this Delivery Phase operates on a retainer model. This approach is designed to align incentives and foster a collaborative partnership between the agency and the client. Think of it as our foot in the door for clients who are less sure of us, in scenarios where we are competing with other agencies, or where the requirements aren’t totally accessible to us yet. It allows the client to de-risk our relationship AND de-risk the project before committing to a full build. This phase would be slightly more agile, to ensure flexibility, spread costs, while still delivering value.
Customer Profile
Section titled “Customer Profile”TODO
Purpose
Section titled “Purpose”TODO
Outputs
Section titled “Outputs”TODO
How to Price It
Section titled “How to Price It”TODO
How to Sell It
Section titled “How to Sell It”TODO
How to Implement It
Section titled “How to Implement It”TODO