Project Discovery Phase

Project Discovery phase

It often happens that when TRIMM is invited to pitch for a new website or portal, the client provides an extensive briefing document. The client has invested a considerable amount of time to deliver the best possible briefing. The fact remains that as a client, you don't set up a digital platform as frequently as a digital agency does. Use the knowledge of the digital agency!

Asking the right questions that seem to slow down but actually accelerate

When your organization decides to start a project, there is a risk of wanting to go too fast and losing sight of important aspects. In many cases, the right digital agency will ask various questions about the briefing that you may not have considered, and these questions may seem to delay the process leading up to implementation.

Our consultants can help you execute a Project Discovery Phase or Preparation Phase, as this part of a digital project is often called. Our consultants assist you in asking the right questions and conducting the necessary analyses for a digital agency to get the best possible understanding of the challenges and, importantly, maintain speed in the lead time to building and implementing the website or portal. As an agency, it is essential that we understand the market and the business case because without this knowledge, the optimal end result cannot be achieved.

Getting to know each other as a client and agency

When an organization has a project and hands it over to a new partner, a Discovery Phase offers an excellent opportunity to get to know each other better and shape the collaboration. Both sides have expectations that may or may not be expressed. This phase provides the opportunity to learn about each other's working methods and align them before embarking on one or more projects or programs together. The outcome may also be that there is no match, and the client goes to another agency with the deliverable. This way, the impact of parting ways is much smaller than when embarking on a project together worth tens or hundreds of thousands of euros that doesn't go as desired.

Bringing complexity to the forefront

Another important aspect of a Discovery Phase is to bring forward complexity that often arises at a later stage and, in the worst case, during the project's execution phase. Complexity that arises in a project leads to delays, cost overruns, and frustration. In many cases, this issue is addressed too late.

Landscape, roadmap, and the guide

Experience has shown that a preparation phase helps map out the entire landscape. Depending on your preference, we visualize the landscape so that you can plan the route you choose. We can also work together to determine one or more routes. In addition to determining the route, we can also assist you along the way. Phase 0 results in a deliverable that allows you to proceed to the next phase of your digital project. This can be with TRIMM or another agency.

Benefits of the Project Discovery Phase:

  • Faster and easier decision-making in this phase compared to later stages of a project
  • Maintaining speed once a "Go" is given for a digital project
  • Aligning stakeholders within your company and sometimes even external stakeholders such as clients and partners/suppliers
  • Leveraging your agency's years of knowledge in digital projects
  • Bringing complexity to the forefront
  • Developing a roadmap for next steps
  • The developed plan is also validated by the agency you will be working with
  • Reduced chance of delays and cost overruns during the project
  • Insight into the right composition of your team and/or steering committee (internal/external team members)

Deliverable

A Discovery Phase results in a deliverable that includes descriptions of scope, planning, team composition, responsibilities (e.g., RASCI matrix), potential project risks, investment, communication structure, reporting, phasing, and dependencies. Generally speaking throughput time of a Discovery Phase ranges around several weeks to 1,5 to 2 months. Availability of people who need to be involved and scheduling are the key bottle necks.
 

 

Want to know more or want to get started with your Project Discovery Phase?

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