Discovery happens in three stages: Context, Research, and Strategy. This page breaks down exactly what happens in each stage, what we deliver, and why it matters.
Short on time? See the quick overview on our main discovery page.
We listen, ask questions, document requirements
Independent analysis of competitors, users, market
Create wireframes, technical plans, budget estimates
| Stage | Timeline | What happens | Key deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Context | 1-3 days | We listen, ask questions, document requirements | Project brief, scope definition, risk assessment |
| Research | 3-7 days | Independent analysis of competitors, users, market | Competitor analysis, user personas, journey maps |
| Strategy | 5-15 days | Create wireframes, technical plans, budget estimates | Wireframes, technical plan, content strategy, budget |
Discovery isn’t a single meeting or a questionnaire. It’s a structured process that uncovers what you actually need (not just what you think you need) before you spend serious money building.
Important: All discovery packages (Essential, Just Right, Complete) go through the same three stages: Context, Research, and Strategy. What changes between packages is the depth and detail we go into at each stage, not which stages you get. See what’s included in each tier.
Here’s what happens in each stage:
What it is: We listen. You talk. We ask questions.
Timeline: 1-3 days depending on complexity
Goal: Understand your business, goals, users, and what you’re trying to achieve
We spend 1-3 days asking tough questions that surface mismatches between what you think you need and what will actually work. We challenge assumptions early before they become expensive problems. Finding them now is cheap. Finding them mid-development costs thousands.
The depth we go into during Context depends on your package tier, but every project covers the core areas outlined below. See what your tier includes.
Here’s what we cover in Context, and why each area matters:
Your business & market position – Who you are, what you do, how you compete
Your users & their needs – Who uses this and what they’re trying to accomplish
Technical requirements & existing setup – Current systems, tools, and assets
Constraints & non-negotiables – Legal, security, budget, and compliance requirements
Project operations & stakeholders – Who’s involved and how decisions get made
This is where we surface mismatches between what you asked for and what you actually need.
Common discoveries:
Why this matters: Finding these mismatches at the Context stage saves money. Finding them mid-development costs thousands.
This is where we catch the issues that would force a rebuild later. We’re here to find problems, not make you feel good about bad ideas.
At the end of Context, you’ll receive the Context brief documenting everything we learned and what comes next. See detailed deliverables breakdown.
What it is: We dig deeper on our own. We study competitors, research the market, analyze user behavior.
Timeline: 3-7 days depending on depth
Goal: Test what you think you know, find opportunities, spot risks you can’t see from inside your business
This is where we turn ‘we think’ into ‘we know.’ You can’t see what you can’t see from inside your business. We do independent research you don’t have time for—digging into analytics, competitors, user behavior, and technical options. We’re finding patterns that change your approach before you’ve committed serious money to building.
The research activities we conduct depend on your package tier, but every project includes the essential research outlined below. See what your tier includes.
Technical & platform research – Evaluating technology options and feasibility
Competitive & market intelligence – What competitors are doing and market trends
User research & behavior analysis – Understanding your users and their needs
Note: User research appears in both Research and Strategy stages. In Research, we conduct user research activities (interviews, surveys, observation, data analysis). In Strategy, we apply those insights to create strategic deliverables (user personas, journey maps, UX strategy).
Content strategy research – SEO, content planning, and site structure
Sometimes research finds things that contradict what you told us in Context. That’s not a problem—it’s exactly why we do research.
Examples:
We’ll walk through these findings together and figure out what they mean for your project.
At the end of Research, you’ll receive the Research report documenting what we found. We present recommendations, not mandates—you decide what to use. See detailed deliverables breakdown.
Research often reveals tough truths. Your assumptions might be wrong. That’s exactly what we’re looking for—finding those gaps before they cost you thousands.
What it is: We make everything tangible. Wireframes, technical plans, content strategy, budget, timeline.
Timeline: 5-15 days depending on complexity
Goal: Turn research and insights into something you can review, approve, or adjust
Strategy is where everything becomes concrete. No more abstract conversations—we’re creating actual documents you can see, review, and approve. Wireframes show exactly what pages look like. Technical plans document exactly how we’ll build it.
This is where alignment happens. Everyone’s been imagining something different. Wireframes make it real, surfacing the “oh, I thought it would be…” conversations before development starts.
By the end of Strategy, you’ll have everything mapped out. You’ll know what you’re building, how long it’ll take, what it’ll cost, and why every decision was made. No surprises, no guessing—just clarity.
What you get in Strategy depends on your package tier, but every project covers the foundational strategy outlined below. See what your tier includes.
User experience & journey design – Wireframes, user flows, and UX strategy Wireframes: The earliest visual version of your product. No colors, no branding—just structure, layout, and flow.
Why wireframes matter: In our experience, 90% of clients are relieved when they finally see wireframes. Everyone’s been imagining something different in their head. Wireframes make it concrete. After wireframes are approved, we move to full visual design.
User journeys: Maps showing how people move through your product from landing to converting (or leaving).
UX planning: How we’ll design the experience based on user behavior, psychology principles, and heuristics.
We explain these simply—no academic jargon—so you understand why we’re recommending what we’re recommending.
Content & messaging strategy – What you’ll say, where, and how it guides users
Website structure & content definition: The foundation of your site’s organization and content architecture.
Core purpose and value proposition: A clear statement of what your product does and why it matters to users.
Not marketing fluff. A real, user-focused answer to:
Content strategy: What you’ll say, where you’ll say it, and how it’ll guide users toward your goals.
Content migration plan (if applicable): For redesigns or platform migrations, we map how existing content transfers to your new structure.
Technical architecture & implementation – How we’ll build it and what it runs on
Technical implementation document: The behind-the-scenes plan for how we’ll build this.
Performance & goals: Technical performance targets and analytics tracking strategy.
Conversion & optimization Strategy – Turning visitors into customers
Conversion optimization: Strategy for turning visitors into customers, subscribers, or leads.
Visual & brand strategy – Design direction and brand consistency
Visual & brand strategy: The visual direction and brand consistency guidelines for your project.
Project planning & launch strategy – Timeline, budget, QA, and post-launch
Project planning & management: The roadmap, timeline, and risk management framework for your project.
Budget and timeline: What it’ll cost and how long it’ll take.
Quality assurance & launch planning: Ensuring everything works perfectly before you go live.
Post-launch strategy: What happens after launch to ensure ongoing success.
MVP scope (if building something new): What you launch with vs. what comes later.
Most projects skip strategy and start development with vague plans. Strategy replaces guesses with decisions.
We’ll use Strategy to make informed trade-offs between features, timeline, and budget before you commit serious money.
At the end of Strategy, you’ll receive the Strategy blueprint—the complete plan showing exactly what you’re building. See detailed deliverables breakdown.
Important: You’ll know what you’re building, what it’ll cost, how long it’ll take, and why every decision was made. Most clients move to design, prototyping, or development (web apps, websites, mobile apps) after Strategy is complete.
We question your assumptions before you commit serious money to building them. Wrong assumptions found during discovery cost hundreds to address. The same assumptions found mid-development cost thousands to rebuild.
Discovery isn’t always about moving forward. Sometimes the best outcome is realizing your idea won’t work, or needs significant changes, or could be solved with an existing tool instead of custom development.
If that’s what research reveals, we’ll tell you. You’ll save tens of thousands by learning this before you build.
We make money when you build with us. But we’ll tell you NOT to build if that’s the right answer. That’s the difference between a partner and a vendor.
You don’t need to be a developer to understand why we’re recommending React over WordPress, or why we’re suggesting a specific database structure. We explain trade-offs in plain language.
The full discovery process takes 2 days to 3 weeks depending on which tier you choose:
All tiers go through Context, Research, and Strategy. What changes is how deep we go at each stage. Timeline also depends on project complexity and how quickly you provide information and feedback.
Quick answer for most projects: Plan for 1-2 weeks for meaningful discovery that prevents costly mistakes later.
Research findings are insights, not mandates. We’ll present what we found and explain what it means, but you make the final call.
If you disagree, we’ll discuss why and adjust recommendations accordingly. Sometimes you know things about your business that research can’t capture. Sometimes research reveals uncomfortable truths. We’ll work through it together.
During Context: Yes. We need your time for interviews and information gathering.
During Research: Minimal. We’re doing independent research. You might get a few clarifying questions, but mostly we’re working on our own.
During Strategy: Moderate. We’ll need feedback on wireframes, content direction, and strategic decisions. But we don’t need constant availability.
Not sure which tier you need? Contact us for a free consultation and we’ll recommend what makes sense for your project. We can also answer questions about design services, development options, or prototyping.