Discovery Stage and why I should have it?

With the rise of new technologies, the tech industry is becoming more and more competitive in a way that thousands of Founder and CEOs receive daily connection requests, messages, and emails from dev teams or software factories desperate to get a little piece of the cake, an excellent way to filter if a good company will make your digital product for you in a way that will be profitable is if they do a discovery stage, this too ensures your product succeed.    

So, if you're serious about your product, it's time to take the discovery stage seriously.

A frequently cited statistic from CB Insights reports that 35% of startups fail due to a lack of market need for their product.

It is already complicated for us to make rounds and rounds of funding and get the investment enough to put us to fail for not making something so crucial like it is a discovery stage.

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What is the Discovery Stage?

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It is not more than market research, where your team gathers data, analyzes market trends, and deeply understands your audience. In this phase, the Product team creates a feature list and ideas to add to the first Design Spring.  

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This isn't just an option—it's a must to avoid costly mistakes.    

Imagine jumping from a building just because you think there is a mat at the bottom without being 100% sure; it sounds crazy, right?    

The discovery stage removes that risk by arming you with the insights to make data-driven decisions.    

In our article about the design process for an App, we spoke about this phase where the product team starts creating a plan based on    

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• The needs and pains of the target
• The need and vision of the stakeholders and owners
• The Value Proposal you had to make you different from your competitors

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Why is it Important?

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Investing in this phase ensures that every decision is backed by data, saving you from common pitfalls like misaligned goals or poor user experiences. You'll mitigate risk and create a product that your users will love, and can secure funding for different rounds.

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Structure of the Discovery Stage

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To ensure you are doing well on the homework, you must follow a structure that gives you enough foundation to start.

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1. Scope: If you don't define the scope at the beginning of the project, I can assure you that it will never be complete; the scope allows us to create a good MVP (minimum variable product) in a short time, having from the beginning the boundaries of the project.

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• What thing are we going to do?
• What are you going to avoid for the moment
• What can we integrate after the launch

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With a scope, your project will stay on until it reaches a point where you can never finish it.

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1. Business needs: Most of the time, the business owner wants to add a feature that may not fit with the pains and needs of his target (or at least not for a first launch). It is our responsibility as professionals to always look for a balance between both; most of the time, business owners are not just looking for someone to help them create the thing but also guidelines and recommendations to ensure the launch.
2. User needs and pain: Based on market research (industry, user persona, competitor, etc.), there must be a balance between the vision of the owner and stakeholder and the pains of the user who will consume the digital solution.
3. Moscow analysis and features to integrate: In this case, it will highly depend on the resources that the stakeholder would have. Sometimes, business owners want to create a functional prototype to show to investors and get the funding to pay for the development when they have limited resources. Or go complete with the design and dev to launch but make the list of features more minor to ensure it can be completed in time and within the budget.
4. Selection of technologies for the project: Once the objective, scope, and research are completed, the dev team selects the best technologies to use during the project.
5. Workflow and road map planification: We follow each spring's goals and deadline deliveries to ensure everything is finished on time.

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By the end of the discovery stage, you'll have clarity, alignment, and a game plan that ensures your product's success.    

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Benefits of the Discovery Stage

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     The discovery stage allows you to validate your idea and ensure critical areas.  

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• Save in cost: Ensure there's a market need before sinking more time and money into development.
• Define the right goals. You'll no longer guess what your users want—you'll have solid data to back every decision.
• Mitigate risks: Spot potential challenges before they become expensive problems.
• You have a roadmap. You'll know exactly what needs to be done and in what order—there will be no surprises.
• Secure Funding: Investors will only invest in a product backed up with data; you must understand that if you go directly to a VC, you must reply to every question with information about the market.

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Summary

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If you're serious about building a successful product, the discovery stage isn't optional—it's essential. Without it, you're guessing. With it, you're setting yourself up for clear goals, a killer user experience, and a roadmap for success. Please don't make the mistake of skipping this phase and paying for it later.

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Want to avoid the common pitfalls of product development and set your project up for success? Let's talk. Book a call with us today, and let's lay the foundation for your next big product.    

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