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Discovery & Research
First understand why — then design what.
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Was die Leistung umfasst
What discovery & research does for you
The most expensive project mistakes happen before the concept phase. When the team realizes in sprint 2 that it's solving the wrong problem, three weeks are gone and morale is in the bin. Discovery & research is the phase that prevents exactly this: before deciding what gets built, you understand why it should be built at all. It sounds obvious, yet it's skipped in two out of three projects.
I structure the research phase as a compact process — not a weeks-long workshop marathon. Concretely: stakeholder interviews (what the decision-makers want, where they contradict each other, what the unspoken constraints are), user research (interviews, observation, data analysis where available), competitor analysis (what comparable players do, where the gap is), synthesis in a discovery report (problems prioritized, solution spaces outlined, clear recommendations with arguments).
Before the concept phase begins, it's clear which problem the project solves and which it doesn't. Stakeholders are aligned, user assumptions are validated, the competitive position is defined. That saves weeks of discussion down the line, because the foundation is settled — and it makes the project faster, because no mid-production pivot is needed any more.
So gehe ich vor
How I approach discovery & research
01 — Briefing & setup. Which decision is coming up, which assumptions are being made right now, which sources are available. Define the discovery scope — compact or in-depth, depending on the stakes.
02 — Stakeholder interviews. Three to five key people from the company, each interviewed in a structured 45-60 minute session. Topics: goals, constraints, expectations, past experiences, what's meant but not said.
03 — User & market research. User interviews where relevant (often three to five are enough to spot patterns), data analysis from existing sources (analytics, CRM, support tickets), a competitor scan in the market.
04 — Synthesis & recommendation. Bundle the results into a compact discovery report: problems prioritized, solution spaces outlined, a recommendation with reasoning. Plus a workshop with the team, so the decisions in the report are actually carried.
FAQ
Häufig gestellte Fragen
In theory yes, in practice it's expensive. If the team realises in sprint 2 that it's solving the wrong problem, three weeks are gone. Discovery isn't bureaucracy, it's risk reduction: before you decide what to build, you understand why it should be built at all. For small projects a compact version is enough — dropping it entirely is rarely worth it.
You know what customers tell you. Research uncovers what they don't say or don't even know themselves: implicit expectations, friction points in their day-to-day, competing options they're aware of, the language they use to talk about your product. Even well-understood markets produce insights in 60% of interviews that nobody internally had suspected.
A compact discovery report with prioritised problems, outlined solution spaces and a clear recommendation. Plus a workshop with the team, so the findings don't stay stuck in the report but actually drive decisions. Deliberately not an 80-page document — but the material that justifies the next sprint.
It depends on the depth. A compact discovery (stakeholder interviews, light data analysis, quick synthesis) runs fast. A thorough discovery with user research and competitive analysis takes several weeks. In the briefing we agree on scope and pace — fast for pilot projects, thorough for strategic decisions.
