Unfortunately, not every Discovery engagement is a success. Please where possible, avoid the following common mistakes:
1. Underestimate
Don't underestimate the importance of requirements Discovery. That also applies to making sure we invest enough time to properly prepare for the discovery and organize the discovery team. We'll talk about preparation in the next section.
2. Misalignment
Ensure that the team is aligned around a common goal, and agenda and they truly understand the roles of one another. Discovery is not a competition on who did better. It's teamwork and should be treated as such.
3. Client Is Not Engaged
Sometimes we see that Clients are not fully engaged. It may happen because the clients say - hey here are 100 pages of docs where all requirements are already collected, or they say we're busy, or discovery teams are too shy to bother clients to participate in the workshops or approve requirements.
4. Poor Transition
And at last, no one cares how great the discovery went if there are no outcomes that other team members may use. I'm talking specifically about the product backlog or user stories for sprint 1, or the project plan. It also doesn't help if there is no proper knowledge transfer meeting (or meetings) to the delivery team, the team that will actually build the solution.
Learn More
Interested in learning more? Download the Discovery Checklist – your all-in-one, practical blueprint for successful requirements elicitation, packed with actionable steps to guide you through every stage of the discovery process.
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