The discovery phase is a specialized business analysis of your project ideas that help you with the precise deliverables, such as architecture, specification, scope, budget, and time. 

For startups, the discovery phase is essential since it helps you a clear picture of the project and prevents any mishaps and unpleasant surprises.  

It Is well-oriented around objectives instead of deliverables only.  
The completion of a project on time as well as within the allocated budget does not guarantee its achievement, not even if the project strictly follows the performance requirements. These are not success definitions. The success of a product is determined by how well it accomplishes broader goals like increasing leads or increase conversion. Unfortunately, the basic objectives, at times, are not sufficiently defined or conveyed. Without that clear vision, it is easy for you to lose direction all through the production process. Thus, a properly conducted discovery phase is an effective solution to deal with this issue.  

In addition, the project’s objective is more clearly defined; thus, it results in a more precise estimation of the budget and resources. 

It results in more effective solutions.   
During the discovery phase, the assigned team members can gain a better understanding of the basic concept of the project and develop a clearer understanding of the underlying issues rather than focusing exclusively on the client’s solutions. After gaining full knowledge of the project’s context, the whole team can come up with possible solutions that a customer, who isn’t a specialist in the field, maybe unaware of. And those solutions could be more cost-effective or more efficient than the client’s own proposal or even expectations.  

It establishes a broader context of the project.  
The discovery phase lays the groundwork for many everyday decisions that are needed to be made all through the project cycle. It will significantly reduce the cost of costly mistakes, confusion, and unnecessary functions. The more qualified the digital team is, the more quickly they can make the correct decisions, and the end result will be perfect.  

The discovery phase allows you to focus on the end-user.  
A functional specification, which is frequently referred to as a client brief, is usually not written with the end-user in mind. Typically, the process is much worse. It is common practice that we define projects without considering the user’s desires or requirements. It can cost you dearly if you lose sight of the end-user. To be honest, it’s easy to create functionality that nobody wants, resulting in a massive waste of funds. Even if you’ve conducted some user research, you are still required to give the team time with end-users. If your team members don’t understand the user, they will make project decisions that will harm the user experience. When you pay special attention to your end-users, you can make a more user-friendly experience. 

Informed Decision 
When you are working on a project, you can’t afford to start it with guesswork at all in any respect. The discovery phase allows you to make design decisions that are fully backed by authentic data instead of any speculations.  

No Surprise Later  
One miscalculation or missing out on any detail in the beginning, can turn out to be a nightmare at later stages. During the advanced phases of the development process, the discovery phase helps you prevent such mishaps and unnecessary modifications.  

As a startup, it’s important to determine if you require the discovery phase or not. Well, there is no other way than asking the appropriate questions to yourself. Respond to the following ones in this regard:  

• What issues does the solution address?  
• What advantages will it bring? 
• Is the solution appropriate for the business? 
• Is it financially viable? 
• How will it accomplish the vision and mission of a brand or business?  
• How will the product be discovered, used, and interacted with? 
• Which touchpoints would be critical?  
• What will keep users engaged and never abandon the app due to the user interface, functional features, or speed? 
• Which architecture will enable future product development while also ensuring its effectiveness?  
• Which technology stack would be optimal? 
• Which operating systems will it support?  
• How much would development cost? 
• How can production costs be reduced without jeopardizing the quality? 

If you are having difficulty expressing yourself clearly and confidently in response to all of these questions, it clearly calls for working with the discovery phase. 

I hope you can see the importance of the discovery phase for statuses. Investing in the discovery phase protects you from unwanted rebuilds and disappointments. The biggest issue of skipping it is that you will lose your entire project due to building on the incorrect solution. Additionally, you save time and money on application development because the team adds features that end-users require and eliminates those that are superfluous based on rigorous business analysis.