THE SEAT OF OUR PANTS

Mark Gash discusses the reality of the discovery phase in client projects

I remember my Design teacher at school, Mr Tucker, giving our Year 12 class a pep talk ahead of a year-long project we were about to undertake for our A-Levels. He told us that even though he was duty-bound to teach us the importance of research, scoping, and testing before we embarked on actually beginning to create our final design, he wanted us to know that in the real world, all of those stages were, in his words, bollocks. He explained that being given a school year to plan and deliver a design project was not how it would play out once we managed to find jobs; most of the time, you would find yourself with a half-baked brief from a client and a deadline of yesterday, so the discovery phase was pure fantasy. And with a handful of exceptions, in a career spanning 22 years, I’ve come to realise that he was right.

Now, it’s not for lack of trying. The discovery phase of a project is something I have always had every intention of implementing before commencing client work. It’s always blocked out on gant charts and project road maps, and we go to great lengths to explain how important it is to the customer. But you know what they say about intentions and roads.

When you talk to other companies at conferences or networking events, you get the feeling they’ve got it all sorted, “Yeah, we spend at least 6 weeks on discovery and charge the client £50k for it.” Fuck me - we’d knock out a fully functional LMS with 30 bespoke courses for a tenth of that. The bigger boys (and girls and....) have whole teams dedicated to discovery - they’re like the Starship Enterprise, with different officer classes and nice uniforms. We’re like Han and Chewie - flying the Millennium Falcon by the seat of our pants and hoping too many bits don’t fall off before we reach the end of the project.

I’m well aware that without a solid foundation of research, analysis, and planning, projects risk collapsing under their own weight - they often do! But somehow we always get through it relatively unscathed. I just wish we could nail it so that it wasn’t such a close call Every. Single. Time.

I even asked ChatGPT for some pointers - I have a jaded response for each of them but your mileage may vary. If any of the below pointers help you in your own project discovery, then AI has truly won:

Understanding Stakeholder Needs: The discovery phase delves into stakeholders’ needs, goals, and expectations. By understanding their vision and requirements upfront, you can tailor the e-learning experience to meet and exceed their expectations.

Except how many clients, with multiple stakeholders, can ever agree on a list of needs, goals and expectations? And do they stick to them? Or did they change their minds a week before launch because Geoff in their Finance team, who has previously had no involvement with e-learning, suddenly got promoted to Project Manager?

Mapping Out the Terrain: Every project has its unique challenges and opportunities. During the discovery phase, you identify potential roadblocks and chart the most efficient course forward.

Whether it’s navigating technical constraints or aligning with organisational objectives, this phase equips you with the insights needed to navigate the project landscape successfully.

Let’s be honest - technical constraints are actually just budget constraints. E-learning tech is at a point where you can have anything you want, as long as you’re willing to pay. But your £18k budget isn’t going to stretch to an interactive branching course that rivals the latest PlayStation game. And organisational objectives mean that every person involved wants their own bespoke report that will show up-trending numbers to help them justify their role in the upcoming corporate reshuffle.

Defining Scope and Requirements: Answering the question, “What exactly are we building?” The discovery phase answers this by defining the scope, requirements, and deliverables of the project. By setting clear boundaries and expectations upfront, you minimise scope creep and ensure everyone’s on the same page from the get-go.

Scope creep is just part of the fun these days. You think you’re just building a course, but the client didn’t realise they’d need an LMS to host it on or a front-end payment portal to sell it, so you end up building those as well, to the same original deadline. When you ask your butcher to cut you some steaks, he doesn’t check if you have a BBQ to cook them on.

Mitigating Risks: Like a seasoned strategist, the discovery phase helps you anticipate and mitigate risks before they morph into full-blown crises. By identifying potential pitfalls - from technical constraints to budget limitations - you can implement proactive measures to keep your project on track.

The risk is the client. It’s always the client. I know what I’m doing. My team knows what they’re doing. The client... pffft.

Laying the Foundation for Creativity: Contrary to popular belief, structure doesn’t stifle creativity - it fuels it. The discovery phase provides the scaffolding upon which creativity can flourish. Armed with a deep understanding of the project’s objectives and constraints, you’re free to unleash your creative prowess and craft innovative solutions that captivate and engage learners.

“Free to unleash your creative prowess.” Don’t make me laugh. It doesn’t matter if you have decades of design experience behind you, the client will always know better and demand that they get involved in the creative process. Hell, why not get the whole board involved? Design by committee always works out so well.

So what have we learnt? School fosters unrealistic expectations for working in industry and the discovery phase of projects rarely goes to plan. If you can pull off the above and charge £50k to the client for it, then I tip my hat to you. I’ll be flying the Millennium Falcon and fondly recalling the words of my design teacher, “It’s all bollocks.”