Types of Discovery

The importance of discovery

Discovery is the phase of product development where a company conducts research, talks to customers and stakeholders, and analyzes data to gain a deep understanding of the problem space and identify unmet customer needs and pain points. This allows the product team to have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the product and align development efforts around them. This is the foundation of making informed decisions about product features, design, and development.

Initial discovery

Initial discovery refers to the initial research and investigation that is conducted to understand the problem or opportunity that the product is intended to address. This type of discovery happens at the beginning of a project and is focused on gathering information about the market, users, and competition.

It's an important step in product development as it helps to define the problem or opportunity that the product is intended to address. This allows the product team to have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the product, and to align the product development efforts around these objectives. Additionally, initial discovery helps to identify the needs and pain points of the target audience, which is essential for creating a product that meets the needs of its intended users.

Initial discovery also helps to establish a competitive landscape by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing products and identifying opportunities for differentiation. This information sets a foundation for product decisions by providing the information needed to make informed decisions about product features, design, and development. Furthermore, the initial discovery provides direction and clarity for the product development process, which can help to ensure that the product is developed in a focused and efficient manner.

Note that while initial discovery has these advantages, it's important to continue to gather feedback throughout the product development process. This is especially true when the problem is not well understood or if the product is not well-defined, to gain a deeper understanding of the problem and identify potential solutions. This is also the case when the product team is not familiar with the market or the audience. It helps the team to understand the needs and pain points of the target audience and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing products in the market. Initial discovery is useful in these circumstances, but it's important to continue to gather feedback and insights from users and other stakeholders throughout the product development process.