Discovery turns a business complaint into a buildable problem.
“We need a dashboard” or “we need custom software” is not yet a requirement. Discovery identifies users, current steps, decisions, records, tools, exceptions, and the cost of the present bottleneck.
The output should make the first release clear enough to estimate and review without pretending every future feature is known.
- Current-state workflow map
- Users and responsibilities
- Data sources and system constraints
- First-release outcome and exclusions
Requirements and architecture define how the system behaves.
Requirements describe what users need to accomplish and the business rules that control each step. Architecture defines records, modules, permissions, integrations, environments, reporting, and operational ownership.
This phase should also identify provider approvals, data migration risks, security expectations, and workflows that require human review.
Development should produce reviewable working increments.
The best feedback comes from usable workflow slices, not long status reports. Reviews should test whether the system matches the real operation and whether the next increment still makes sense.
Testing covers both expected use and failure paths: incomplete data, duplicate requests, provider errors, permission boundaries, and notification failures.
Launch is a controlled operational change.
Launch can involve staged users, data imports, account setup, training, documentation, vendor configuration, and rollback planning. The more the business depends on the software, the more carefully adoption should be managed.
Managed System Support provides the post-launch path for monitoring, existing-feature fixes, workflow checks, vendor changes, and scoped improvements.