Can I skip the discovery phase of starting a startup?

Question

Hi!

I have a question for those who plan to create a startup or already have any experience in this field.

How do you think, is the discovery (planning) phase important for product success?

Or I can skip it without serious risks?

Please, share your thoughts. The information on the web is quite controversial and I’m interested in real life experience.

Mitch Gillogly · Accepted Answer

Discoveries pretty essential. But I think it depends on how much startup experience someone has. It may easier for people with more experience to recognize problems and validate it with less validation than people starting their first startup.

Astha Sharma · Answer

Discovery is very important in my opinion, even if it's not that intense I feel like you can learn at leasting one thing from it.

Mitch Gillogly · Answer

@astha_sharma @niko_wallner Do it yourself. Just talk to people. I usually create a Google form survey with the problem statement, potential solution and a couple other questions relevant to your idea.

Niko Wallner · Answer

@abadesi Your opinion is very interesting and supportive.
Thanks a lot!

I keep in mind some great products (like Airbnb) that didn’t complete a discovery phase.

But I’m confused by tones of posts like this: https://freshcodeit.com/freshcode-post/why-project-discovery-phase-matter

They claim that skipping discovery causes lots of problems (a project that doesn’t meet my goals, endless scope creep, a bloated budget, missed deadlines, etc)

Abadesi · Answer

It may be easier to answer this with more context about the problem you are solving / the kind of product you want to build.

It could be that you are ready to make your MVP because your product is a result of something deeply personal to you, and leverages existing first hand experience and knowledge.

But if that is not the case you don't lose anything by doing some research simply to verify those basic assumptions before investing resources into something uneccessarily.

Abadesi · Answer

@niko_wallner How many unicorns can you name that skipped it, though? 👀

Lui Kown · Answer

Discovery phase for a digital product is like construction documentation for a house. It is the basics to begin with. Discovery phase by itself consists of several important steps such as research, planning, defining requirements, choosing technologies, etc.

Here is a downloadable template and explanatory notes with examples: https://digiscorp.com/blog/project-discovery-phase-template-for-startups/

Niko Wallner · Answer

@mitchgillogly @astha_sharma Thanks for the clarification!
Can I complete the discovery on my own?
Or should I pay an agency?

David Jeremiah Fuimaono · Answer

Hi @niko_wallner you may not like this answer, but I think "it depends."

I think it depends on how much experience and familiarity you have with whatever problem you're trying to solve, or need you're trying to meet.

I think if you are looking to solve a problem or meet a need in a space you're already familiar with, that might shorten the learning curve and take a few steps out. You might be able to move straight to the R&D, product development, launch an MVP to start testing, learning, and reiterating. But this is mainly because you already have experience in an area, and have identified an opportunity that you can capitalize on.

Personally, I've spent a good deal of time becoming very familiar with the problem I'm trying to solve, and the need I'm trying to meet. It's a big problem and need, so its taken a long time to prepare myself to solve this. In my case, the Discovery Phase of correctly identifying the problem I'm trying to solve was absolutely crucial. Especially since the solution is not an easy one. Spending enough time in the Discovery Phase has helped me to clarify my vision, so I have a crystal clear picture of which direction I'm heading, and where I'm aiming all of my effort, time, and resources towards.

I've found it's good to read, learn, and have other people weigh with their perspectives on any given topic. But I've also found too much input can potentially be overwhelming, and sometimes the advice is conflicting. The result is confusion and a slowdown in decision making and taking action.

There are no shortages of opportunities to pursue in the world. With a limited amount of time in a day and in life, we cannot pursue everything. Which is why I believe so strongly having a clear vision is crucial to success in any endeavor. Once you have a clear vision of what you're trying to accomplish in life, both personally and professionally, that will help give you a way to measure your decisions. You'll be able to decided for yourself whether you need to spend a little more time, or no time in the Discovery Phase, or any phase of pursuing an opportunity.

Hope this helps!

VikiD · Answer

Discovery Phase in software development may seem as the complexity and cost-increasing factor for the project. In fact, this stage of the development process evaluates the direction of the project and describes the objectives for the required scope of work. This phase is also a go-to solution for legacy projects because it can reveal the right direction for the project to be developed and delivered successfully.

Discovery Phase creates a common understanding between the customer and contractor of the project’s business goals and the direction that it should follow as well as can give an ability to run the initialisation of the development environment deployment for the desired software development product.

Colin Brown · Answer

for sure discovery phase is important part of any product development. but it doesn't mean that you need to spend months on this.

First of all, you should talk with users and check their needs. And don't create Washboard one more time.

yeah, most of companies recommend to conduct discovery phase https://uptech.team/blog/project-discovery 
BUT if you are the expert of the niche, you can skip discovery phase.

Can I skip the discovery phase of starting a startup?

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