product discovery Archives

When you start building the app, you make plenty of decisions regarding the technology, tools, software development team, organizational matters, etc. At the core of all this lays the idea for your app, and that’s when it gets complicated. Implementing some solutions depends on the cost and the time needed to create them. You must also make sure you have all the necessary features, that they are intuitive and considered valuable by future users. It is when the Product Discovery workshop can help. Find out what it is and how it can benefit your app project. Key takeaways Product Discovery workshops are collaborative sessions that bring together client’s team and the development team to define project goals, understand user needs, and create a shared vision for the product. They help participants to gain a deep understanding of the problem being solved and ensure everyone is aligned before starting development. Discovery workshops typically involve activities like brainstorming, analyzing insights from user research and competitive analysis, user story mapping, and defining project scope. They help reduce risks, avoid costly rework, and create a user-centered product. By clarifying requirements, Product Discovery workshops can contribute to faster development cycles. These workshops emphasize collaboration and communication among all participants, fostering a shared understanding of the project. A well-executed Product Discovery workshop prioritize understanding user needs and pain points, ensuring the app meets their requirements and resulting in a more user-friendly and successful product. Discovery workshops are particularly useful for complex projects, projects with unclear requirements, or when there are multiple specialists with conflicting opinions. Product Discovery workshops – characteristics Teams participate in the Product Discovery workshops to discuss what they know about users and share their knowledge about the business and the competition. It serves as a base for further analysis that enables ideation. The workshop’s goals may vary, but often it boils down to developing ideas for features, determining their feasibility, and estimating app development cost and time. To achieve these objectives, the group participates in several carefully planned activities. We always prepare the agenda individually for each project. When do Product Discovery workshops take place? Depending on its goal, we can organize such a workshop at different stages of the app development project. In the case of new apps, we conduct workshops at the beginning of the project (after the research). In the case of existing apps, such sessions can take place when you want to fix usability issues, improve specific solutions, or develop ideas for new features. The next step after the workshop is usually UX/UI design, writing code, QA testing, and finally, the app launch. Examples of workshop goals During the Product Discovery workshops, you may pursue different goals. Below, you can see some examples of them. They may also be useful in your project. Better understanding of target users We need to check the product-market fit and ensure users will find our ideas for features valuable and interesting. For this reason, we need to get to know the profiles of our target audience. We usually choose two or three segments of users and prepare the personas of their representatives. Then, we rely on these user personas, for example, when developing feature ideas. Depending on the information available, we can also use them when planning information architecture, main user paths, and even marketing campaigns. Development of ideas for features included in the MVP Many companies come to us with their primary functionality but struggle to figure out what additional features should be in the MVP (Minimum Viable Product). The choice depends on many factors, which we discuss from various perspectives during the workshops. First, we get to know user needs and problems. Then, we work on solutions the app can provide. We also analyze if each idea is in line with business needs and assess how much time and budget it requires to create these solutions. It allows us to choose priority features. Choosing the best technologies and tools for the project execution When we know what you want to offer in your app and why, the team can propose tools that will enable the project execution. They also recommend the technology that is the best fit for your requirements. Whether it’s a cross-platform Flutter or native Swift and Kotlin, you can be sure that our proposition will be well-aligned with your goals. As a result, you can choose solutions that ensure the best performance and, at the same time, allow you to optimize the execution costs. Development of ideas for improvements Sometimes, the goal of the Product Discovery workshop is to solve problems observed in the app. For example, when you see the sales rate decreasing, and you know what causes it, you can work out the solutions during the workshop. Experienced UX design and software development specialists will help you determine what should be done to improve your app. Get to know what causes problems in the app thanks to auditsIf you don’t know why there are performance issues in your app, we will analyze it and prepare the UX and code audit for you. Our team will identify what causes the issues and recommend solutions.Get to know more Choosing the best business model In some cases, it’s hard to decide how the app can help your business grow. It’s especially difficult when you don’t want to display ads and your app doesn’t sell products. Of course, other options exist, such as enabling paid plans, but you must carefully decide what to offer behind the paywall. It’s crucial to ensure your target audience will be willing to pay the required price instead of choosing the competition. During the workshop, the development team shares their experience and knowledge about various business models. We can use these insights to adjust solutions to your product vision. Coming up with solutions that protect against risks As part of the Discovery workshops, the team evaluates the ideas for solutions regarding the potential risks. Workshop participants analyze what dangers may occur and think about how to prevent them. We look at the project from many angles, including technology, changing situations on the market, and legal limitations. Such an analysis allows you to create apps that have more chances for success. Stages of the Discovery workshop You probably want to know what your workshop agenda will look like. Although it’s impossible to create a universal plan that works for every project, many sessions are designed following a similar path. Preparations Before participants get together, we start the research. At Holdapp, we encourage clients to fill out a project brief with basic info about their business and the app vision. It helps us understand their situation and goals better so that we can prepare the agenda. We also ask for any resources that may be useful when ideating and discussing technological matters. Additionally, our team conducts user research and collects information regarding the market and competition. Analyzing the current situation When participants meet for the first time, we start with their introduction because we want to understand everyone’s role. It also shortens the distance, which should improve communication. Then, it’s time to share our research findings about the project, users, the business, the market, and the competition. It allows the team to look at the project from different perspectives. It’s essential to rely on research and our own experience because it enables us to make decisions based on data and not guesses. Ideation This is part of the Discovery workshop most participants wait for because it’s time for being creative. Everyone on the project team comes up with ideas for features that will help users solve their problems and achieve their goals. We also take the business aspect into account. Prioritization In the next phase, the project team organizes the ideas, analyzes them, and chooses the key product features that app developers must implement and those that are optional. We also decide what ideas should be abandoned or added later in the subsequent versions of the app. While making these decisions, we consider user needs, business objectives, and technical matters. It’s all possible because, among Holdapp participants, there are specialists in app development, UI design, and UX research. The client is represented by experts who know their business well, including goals, financial capabilities, deadlines, and target groups. Sometimes, key stakeholders also participate in such sessions. The client’s team and our specialists work together, and everyone is fully engaged in workshop activities. Technical analysis We’ve made initial decisions during the workshop meeting, nevertheless, all ideas must be carefully analyzed by software engineers. In case of some features, they require more information to assess how complex their implementation could be. Wireframing As the Discovery workshop slowly comes to an end, we prepare initial low-fi wireframes that present how the main elements of the app will look. We can also create a user flow. It’s a diagram that shows what actions users will be able to perform in the app. Prototyping and testing Optionally, as part of a workshop process, we create a clickable prototype with the most essential user flows. You can present it to stakeholders or use it for a pitch talk. If you want to check if your idea for the app will be intuitive and valuable to potential users, this prototype will come in handy during usability testing. Discovery workshop deliverables Depending on your needs and requirements agreed upon before the workshop, you can receive various materials from us. They will be helpful during the app development process, but you can also use them for marketing or pitching. Examples of workshop results: Cost and time estimation Report describing the workshop’s agenda, outcomes, and recommendations Access to a canvas with the activities performed during the workshop A complete list of the app’s features Initial user flow diagrams. Examples of activities We participate in various activities and perform many tasks throughout the workshops that help us achieve our goals. For example: User personas User stories Customer Journey Map Value Proposition Canvas Event storming Lightning Decision Jam Prioritization activities, such as SWOT analysis, Kano model, or Impact – Effort matrix Affinity mapping Lean canvas Don’t worry if these names don’t ring a bell. The facilitator will guide you through the entire workshop, tell you what to do, and explain how each activity should help you achieve your goals. Remember that we prepare every Discovery workshop agenda with the client’s unique needs in mind, so it’s impossible to tell what will be on your plan for the Product Discovery session. What happens after the workshop? If you agree with the project’s estimated duration and cost, we can arrange a kickoff meeting to discuss other organizational matters. Then, we prepare the final UX/UI design project while software developers set up the necessary tools. Later, they start writing code. At the same time, a QA tester checks the app. The product owner, who represents the client, monitors the app development process, and together with our project manager, they plan the next steps. When the app is ready, we can launch it on app stores. Learn about app development process from our eBookGet to know the stages of the mobile app development process and prepare yourself for the project start.Get the eBook Online workshops Many companies work remotely nowadays, and getting everyone together in one room can be challenging. That’s the reason why online Product Discovery workshops become more and more popular. This solution is worth considering, especially if the workshop participants are residents of other countries. At Holdapp, we organize online workshops even with people who live in different time zones. Tools that enable remote collaboration, such as Figma or Miro, make it easy. Summary: discovery workshop for planning app development A well-organized Discovery workshop helps both small startups and big enterprises with efficient software development planning. In the early stages, it allows the team to organize their knowledge and understand the current situation, focusing on users, business, and the market. This way, we can develop better solutions that support companies in a measurable way and offer users real value. Do you want to prepare yourself for the app development and take part in the Product Discovery workshops? Write to us and book the date.

What Are Product Discovery Workshops? Goals, Stages, and Deliverables in Mobile App Projects

What Can You Expect from the Product Discovery Workshops? Examples of Activities for Teams

Product Discovery Process – How to Find Business Opportunities and Build Apps Users Actually Need

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What Are Product Discovery Workshops? Goals, Stages, and Deliverables in Mobile App Projects

What Can You Expect from the Product Discovery Workshops? Examples of Activities for Teams

Product Discovery Process – How to Find Business Opportunities and Build Apps Users Actually Need

Get to know us better

Project estimation

Why choose us?