Lets Have A Discovery Project

Discovery Project

What to expect

The central idea for a discovery project is massive amounts of communication.

Your team at Gortek will need timely access to the members of your staff for scheduled meetings, and ad-hoc questions as we're processing everything.

What is the format?

Our discovery projects are loosely based on the concept of Design Sprints, pioneered by Google for making rapid progress in organizational decision making.

Of course, we've modified it quite a bit.

Is it just one week long?

We start with a single sprint to map out everything at the highest level. Whenever we uncover a rabbit-hole of complexity, we mark it as such and back out. Each area like this will potentially get its own sprint to plumb the depths and chart its extent.

So, depending on how complex your project and organization is, it could be a single week, or multiple sprints to discover the true nature and scope of your project.

The beauty of this approach is it can be dialed back or pushed further at will. Each iteration is a fully complete, self contained "module" and ends with documented learning that will be a valuable resource for your business.

Is this overkill?

Absolutely not. Nearly every software project that goes over budget or schedule did so because of improper planning. The management and technical teams simply didn't have all the information necessary to predict the future. They didn't fully understand the scope and complexity of the software they wanted to build.

Why do so many other projects fail?

In many cases, it's because business leaders want an ISV or software development firm to give a solid quote before the actual project ever begins.

These companies can only afford to devote so much time and resources digging into the project while working for free, hoping to win the big contract that makes it worthwhile.

The result is a SWAG at best, most often a very wrong estimate, and at worst — an intentionally under-estimated quote to win the work as the cheapest solution only to continually need more money and time once work has begun.

OK, I'm convinced. How do we start a discovery project?

Just send us a note to schedule a time to begin. Then we'll discover your project plan, time frame, and costs together.