
Discovery workshops: a solid foundation for any digital project
23 Jan 2018
We believe that getting to the bottom of the problem you're trying to solve guarantees mutual understanding and drives success.
I know what I want... I think...?
Deciding to start a new web project or campaign can be difficult. It involves coordinating different people often with competing priorities.
A Discovery or Requirements Workshop is less about the technology and more about your business.
We've started working with many of our clients with a workshop - a day where all people who have a vested interest in your website's success get together to explore opportunities, air concerns and understand each other's priorities.
The outcome, once we've collected a variety of information, is that you receive a report which defines project goals along with a proposal on how we can help you build a focused and effective website.
A Discovery or Requirements Workshop ensures the best return on your investment. We've helped many businesses succeed online by following tried-and-tested project discovery and delivery processes.”
A typical Requirements Workshop
Requirements workshops are a great way for us to help tease out what you're trying to achieve, and help you get there.
Whilst this might seem all a bit heavy, our experience has shown that this additional questioning (and listening!) means we drill down to the underlying purpose of what we're doing. By doing this (by way of tools such as personas, user stories, and taking time to understand your business plans and strategies, which we can then 'check in' against) we get much closer to what you need - and importantly, what your audience needs.
In short, the purpose of this process is to ensure:
- We build the most effective solution first time around
- A plan for return on investment is defined
- All key stakeholders can provide input on what success means for them - i.e. their needs and expectations
- Everybody understands their role so we can collaborate effectively
The discovery process consists of 3 parts:>
- Business requirements workshop
- Technical research
- Recommendations report
We also provide a technical specification which outlines the solution's data architecture, user types, contact segments etc.
This helps us derive some ballpark estimates (budget and time) for a phased delivery of the project and suggestions about how you could proceed in a way which addresses prioritised items first.
Why is this important?
Instead of 'build it and they will come', we like to ensure we're building the right 'it' to start with, using prototyping techniques, looking at all your 'anchors and engines' and discussing your project parameters such as timing, budget and scope. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness are important to you and therefore important to us too - we want to help you achieve a great return on your investment.
Last minute reworks of the entire project are not in anybody's interests.
Around half of all product launches fail on average - but organisations who have a more mature and well-structured approach to creating new products stand a 50% better chance of success than those that don't. So getting the 'it' right, before then 'building it right' gives our customers the edge over their competition. Let's get you into the right 50%!

Get in touch about your project
Give us a call or send us an email to talk through your project
Related articles

Flat design is going gaga!
29 Oct 2014 Flat design. What is it? Where did it come from? Will it go away? What do I need to know? All is revealed in this end-to-end opinion piece.

Platform.sh: affordable and ethical enterprise-grade hosting
21 Sep 2022 Your hosting headache - and how it's costing you business

How to make sure your homepage is clear and concise
4 Jan 2022 The next entry in our homepage series focuses on keeping it simple and effective.
More recent articles

Google Analytics: Is it legal?
24 Nov 2022 Promise: not clickbait! It's hard to believe that this popular product could be considered illegal.

What to consider when you're thinking about your webforms
3 Nov 2022 Webforms are a great way to consolidate interest and turn your visitors into potential new customers. But we bet you hadn't considered the power, positive and negative, that a webform can have on your potential new customer's experience of your business.

6 reasons not to use a standalone microsite for your Christmas marketing campaign
27 Oct 2022 We've compiled a list of the six reasons businesses shouldn't entertain the thought of a microsite - and they're pretty compelling.