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Discovery Phase in The App Project: Tools and Techniques

Aamir Qutub
Aamir Qutub
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The app world has taken the globe by storm. Do you know what the current force behind the existing top-rated apps is? Can you guess what is taking these apps by storm? Strategising right is the key to the successful development of software. This is exactly what you do when you engage in ‘Project discovery’. The discovery phase in software development is the first step towards developing a highly rated app. It ensures that we set up realistic goals and also prepares ùs for a veritable customer response.

Making mistakes is human, but only a handful of us are trained at anticipating them. The Discovery phase helps the app development team assess the market needs, budgetary requirements and the profitability of the developed app. However, we urge you, for once, to invest meticulously in planning out your discovery phase. Trust us; the benefits will make you follow it as your firm’s protocol.

What is Project Discovery Phase?

The project delivery phase is an advanced research phase that takes into account even the most minute details. However, It helps in charting out the wireframe protocol and in modelling the system requirements specification (SRS).

Every app development project completes a cycle of phases and subphases. However, the first and the one of prime importance is the project discovery phase. The success of the subsequent phases is determined by the comprehensiveness and precision of this process. Quite often, firms execute it in a workshop model. However, the team responsible for this initial phase includes team leaders (or tech leads), project managers, app developers, analysts and financial consultants.

Why is it so crucial to app development?

All the team members are allocated different jobs such as Business Goal Identification, Determining Customer and End-user Requirements, App Success Appraisal, Tracing End User Journey, Budgeting the development, Profit Allocation and Profiling of Competitors etc. Each finding undergoes critical assessment and evaluation. Moreover, the incorporation of expert recommendations helps anticipate a reliable plan of action. An app development plan may fall flat in the absence of this initial wealth of work (earlier ignored and tagged as redundant). In fact, in current times, a plan’s success depends upon the discovery phase theme.

Tools and Techniques for the proper execution of the Discovery Phase: 

Developing a high-rated, user-friendly app depends on details and figures that can be placed into different categories. The tools and techniques employed in the Discovery Phase help in the categorisation and analysis of the data. :

  • Business Goal Identification: This is the first sub-phase that helps brainstorm and mind map the business model. Setting up goals makes the A visual and interactive model of your analysis helps concise the conclusions and make them easily understandable. The mind map also aids in identifying company limitations, user requirements, setting the essential compatible android/iOS, fostering effective internal communication and relationships.
  • Tracing End User Journey: User stories closely map the consumer actions. They help transform an abstract business model into a functional one. Moreover, user journeys also help in targeting how each new feature helps in overcoming existing problems.
  • Charting the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) Chart: The BPMN chart helps in-app success appraisal. This subphase demonstrates an easily understandable end-to-end business model highlighting the platform’s working, its interactions with the user, and how the platform helps the user achieve his intended goal.
  • Request-Response Model: This subphase under Project Discovery Phase helps identify the key features that need to be outsourced or integrated with the help of third party services.
  • Profit Allocation and Profiling of Competitors: A SWOT analysis of the model helps assess the model’s profitability and uniqueness.

    However, It helps evaluate the
    • The Strengths /unique features,
    • Weaknesses of your competitor and your app,
    • Opportunities that are available for the growth of your app and,
    • Threats that may negatively affect your outreach and growth.

The cumulation of all these subphases aids in revising the drafted model. A well researched and well-analysed model is the best offering you could give to your developers. Indeed what we get from the series of analyses and visual reporting in the discovery phase is no less than a ‘discovery’.

Aamir Qutub
Aamir Qutub
Aamir Qutub is the founder and CEO of Enterprise Monkey, has a sincere passion for innovation and startups. With an experience of around a decade, he is a proud co-founder of 4 technology startups, focusing on real-world problems and their solutions. He also loves to cook and spend time with his onlyborn.
Aamir Qutub
Aamir Qutub
Aamir Qutub is the founder and CEO of Enterprise Monkey, has a sincere passion for innovation and startups. With an experience of around a decade, he is a proud co-founder of 4 technology startups, focusing on real-world problems and their solutions. He also loves to cook and spend time with his onlyborn.

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