5 reasons why your business needs software product discovery.

Oct 23, 2022 |

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Here’s some food for thought: you have come up with an innovative startup idea that gets the approval of the development team. They get to work and implement it and you love the end product. But once it hits the market, no one cares about it. With lack of customers, the product holds no ground in the market space. Why is that so?

This is a crucial issue that numerous startup companies have been facing for many years. And it has less to do with how innovative the idea is and more to do with the lack of proper research before development begins. As a result, the business faces significant losses.

Startups tend to be more successful and validated when businesses have a clear-cut plan for their upcoming product. Regardless of their phases; whether it be in the initial ideation stage or the final development phase, product discovery is crucial for all entrepreneurs. It aids in putting thoughts into action and releasing products so they may effectively compete in the market.

There are many reasons why software product discovery is an integral part of software development. In this article, we will discuss the top 5 of them so that you can make an informed decision while planning your product development journey.

What is software product discovery?

One of the most crucial phases of a business is product discovery. This is further broken down into 3 separate stages: ideation, validation, and product development.

Ideation: when business owners consider what they want to produce
Validation: when they investigate and confirm prospective markets for their concept
Development: when the final idea is implemented and processed through the system

So, you might be wondering what goes on in the discovery stage. For starters, your startup concept and the entire implementation process will be thoroughly evaluated. Afterward, a proficient team consisting of business analysts, UI/UX experts, and software architects will carry out the work together to provide

A thorough and competent market research
Product prototyping and proper wireframing
Analysis of the features that will be implemented
Outline of current business goals
Size of the team
Duration of the whole process
Budget and other money estimates etc.

The discovery phase can seem quite daunting as it usually takes several weeks to end. But overall, it depends on how big the product is. Some businesses might deem it to be unnecessary but if you want to lower the probability of your startup failing, the product discovery stage will help in the following ways.

To quickly assemble a team of experts that will swiftly comprehend your startup concept and create an MVP with the required capabilities
Will establish multiple procedures which will yield effective results with the least amount of work
Will analyze the acquired data and provide a thought-out plan for future expansions
Will give an outline of the expected outcomes of the product

The anticipated results will help to diminish any final doubts that the business may face.

When do you need the discovery phase?

As mentioned earlier, some businesses may emphasize the redundancy of product discovery. Many times, a startup may succeed without it. But other times it’s crucial for a business to implement.

• The concept may be innovative, but hazardous

You can determine whether there is a need for your startup in the discovery phase. The research that you will conduct will reveal your target audience and what you can provide to meet their needs. You must always remember that your development endeavor should be centered around your users and their demands.

Most importantly, product discovery will provide an estimation of the time and expense required to introduce the product to your target audience.

• Unfinished technical and functional requirements

In many cases, a customer will arrive with a product description, a list of specifications, and general ideas. But due to particular technological difficulties, it’s not possible to integrate the ideas into one application. The sooner the team, as well as the customer, realizes this, the less money will be poured into the pointless development process.

It’s always important to ascertain what clients desire from your product in terms of its function. You can spend all the time in the world figuring out what your client wants. But as time means money, this will be more expensive than going through the discovery phase.

Why do businesses still skip the discovery phase?

It should go without saying that commencing a project with the discovery phase will ultimately save you time and money. So why do consumers still ignore this profound yet undervalued discovery phase? The causes are simply psychological.

• Exuberance and exhilaration

Once you come up with an idea, you feel the need to put it into practice immediately. But this enthusiasm slowly declines when you go further down the development process. Once you start analyzing its shortcomings, the startup no longer seems worth the effort.

• Excessive assurance

If you’re too confident in your product, you will think that this is also what your customer desires. As a result, you’ll face no problem in selling it, and if any problems arise in the future, your competent crew will handle all the technological problems. All this may seem great at first, but at what price?

Furthermore, if a team exclusively consists of only technical experts, they are bound to undervalue the skills required for sales, marketing, and communications. But all these components are crucial to the whole existence of the business and its products.

5 Reasons why you need the discovery phase

Product discovery will undoubtedly improve team productivity and help to avoid several obstacles that the startup will face. This is why we advise software development with the help of the product discovery phase.

1. Formulating a plan

Market research is the first step in the process. The discovery phase aids in problem analysis. You will get to know what issues your product will solve, the type of people who’ll use it, the instances where they will encounter the problem, and how they will engage with the product. The platform plays an important role whether the format is for a mobile interface, a desktop, or completely online.

You must also research your rivals and identify distinctive features or advantages that will set you apart from the competition.

2. Conditions for listing

You may develop a list of features and correctly prioritize them with the aid of software product discovery. Your first concern is the satisfaction of the consumers, thus it’s important to put full attention into innovating a product with all of the crucial features that will aid them in their needs.

3. Information structure

Creating low-fidelity wireframes, drawing the information architecture, and generalizing the project plans are the key steps in the product discovery process. You will have the bones of your application or website at your disposal.

While the product is in its development process, you may discuss it with your customer and adjust the modifications accordingly. It’s always recommended that you have an overview of the tasks at hand so that you know that you’re following the right route.

4. The technology stacks

Even if you’ve already decided on the tools you’ll employ to put your idea into practice, getting a second opinion will also be useful. By utilizing different technologies and employing specialized personnel from an outsourcing provider, you may be able to develop your solution more quickly and even affordably.

5. Price ranges

Once you have the market research analyzed, the roadmap visualized and the timetables created, it’s easier to estimate the costs that will incur. For companies with strict financial restrictions, this is enough to save a business from going unnecessarily bankrupt.

To sum it up

Product discovery will help you to first be aware of what has to be done, for whom, and why. With the help of market research and competitive analysis, you will be able to develop the MVP‘s feature set.

The discovery process may take a few weeks to complete, but that time is nothing in comparison to the difficulties you’ll be able to prevent once the results are out. Why not ascertain if your proposal will be implemented and successful before spending money on it?

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