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WorkflowCraft conventionIntermediate

Discovery

Working out what problem to solve before deciding how, which is where most product failure is actually prevented.

Definition

Discovery is the phase of understanding the problem, the users and the constraints well enough to choose what to build. It ends with a defined problem, not with a solution.

Craft convention. True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.

On this page
  1. Definition
  2. What discovery has to produce
  3. Methods, matched to the question
  4. Continue from here

What discovery has to produce

  1. 1

    A problem statement

    Who has the problem, in what circumstance, and what it costs them. Written without reference to any solution.

  2. 2

    Evidence

    What you know, how you know it, and how confident you are. Assumptions listed separately from findings.

  3. 3

    Constraints

    Technical, legal, commercial and organisational limits that any solution must respect.

  4. 4

    Success measures

    What would change if this were solved, stated in terms that can be measured.

  5. 5

    Risks

    The assumptions that would invalidate the whole thing if wrong, and how you plan to test them.

Methods, matched to the question

  • What do people actually do: contextual inquiry, analytics.
  • Why do they do it: interviews, jobs-to-be-done conversations.
  • How widespread is it: surveys, analytics segmentation.
  • What already exists: competitive review, support ticket analysis.
  • Would this work: prototype and usability testing, before building.

Continue from here

Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.

Principles behind this

The reasoning this solution is an application of.

Often used with

These usually appear in the same screen or the same decision.

Short definition

The one-paragraph version, for when that is all you need.

Related concept

Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.