The Six Elements of a Sound Discovery Process
The most important part of any digital project, be it a mobile app, software application, or website, happens before any code is written or any colors are chosen or themes designed. At Envoc, we created our Six Elements of a Sound Discovery Process as a way to deliver a more professional experience for our clients and produce the outcome they expect. The Envoc Process also assures that we execute on our contractual and fiduciary responsibility to our clients.
Business Requirements
This is ground zero. What is the challenge/pain that has driven the need for a solution to be created that solves the challenge/pain and delivers additional value? Who are the stakeholders requesting a relief for the business pain? What do they expect in return for the investment of time and money to create this solution?
Functionality Requirements
In short, what happens when I push a button, choose a value, enter a value, etc.? What types of actions and corresponding reactions are needed based on the Business Requirements? Are there systems or things like this out in the world already? If so, how do they function? What do they provide?
User Requirements
When you are creating a digital project that will be accessed by different types of people, knowing the User Requirements allow you to create the right experience and expectation for each User Type. Salespeople are different users than support people. Owners are different users than managers. You must understand all of your User Groups to understand how to deliver the project so that you get adoption across the board, not just in small pockets.
Design Requirements
Does your new creation need to adhere to a certain brand value, or is this something altogether new? Do you need it to match up or resemble other things about you or your organization? This is perhaps one of the easiest parts of the process as it either goes one way or another with little gray area in direction.
Support Requirements
What is the plan and method for supporting the known user base for this project and/or system? Does your company have a support infrastructure to handle this or will the vendor handle support?
Technical Requirements
Everything created in a digital medium is technology-driven and managed. Does your project need to be hosted, is it bound by regulatory issues, etc. are all discovered here. The cloud is a great economic value for digital projects, but sometimes regulatory issues in certain industries mean a tighter control on the overall infrastructure for the technology.
If you'd like to know more about our discovery and project processes, or have a project you'd like to work together on, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch