Research + Discovery introduction

What is the Research + Discovery phase?

It’s tempting to start brainstorming solutions right away based on your understanding of your project. Doing that leads to a solution-focused design process in which your team’s primary question is: How do we build the solution?

Instead focus on a user-centered design process in which your team’s primary questions are: Who are the potential users of my service, and how can we design a service that meets their needs?

Your goal in the Research + Discovery phase is to learn about real users and identify the problem(s) your service could solve for them. The best way to do this is to talk to real users. Go out and find people who will be using the service. Talk to them, observe them, and learn what they need and want.

Planning

• Start the project by putting a time constraint on your Research and Discovery work. Plan to spend
  • 2 to 4 weeks for a new feature
  • 4 to 8 weeks for a new service
• Schedule the Research and Discovery Checkpoint at least a week in advance.

Resources and help

• Learn how to prepare for the Research and Discovery Checkpoint .

• Guides and resources:

  • User research guide
  • Design guide
  • Content guide
  • Technical guide
  • Agile guide
  • More resources

• If you have a question about something in the Handbook, contact the DSVA team.