DISCOVERY PHASE | NOR’EASTER BEHIND THE SCENES
Whether it’s a website or a mobile game, a $2,000 project or $200,000 project, the first step remains the same - discovery.
The discovery phase of interactive projects is vital for setting the right foundations for all the work to come. It allows our team to familiarize ourself with our client’s goals and challenges, and assess for ourselves where we think the opportunities and vulnerabilities of the project reside. Let’s assume for instance that we’re redesigning an existing website for a client. Here are some of the key facets we would include in the discovery phase:
Independent Review:
We always plan for our team’s independent review of the web property. It’s a chance for us to review the site in a silo, allowing us to uncover issues and make recommendations that existing site admins may overlook due to their proximity. We review the site to cover a variety of potential pitfalls…
Design inconsistencies and/or confusion
UX enhancements
Architectural issues (the ease with which we can browse/find information)
…and so on.
Stakeholder Interviews:
Equally important to our own findings are the thoughts and recommendations of client stakeholders. Stakeholder interviews allow us to pose targeted questions to the internal and external users of the website, and give us a better glimpse at how current users perceive and interact with its content. Stakeholder interviews might take place over a call, or could even be converted into a form to share out with larger groups. While the questions might vary from project to project, one question we always ask is, “If your website could provide only one piece of information to your visitors, what would it be?”
The goal of these interviews is to come away with real life achievements and pain points. We want to know where the site is helping current users and where it is falling short.
Analytics Review:
While interviews can be opinionated, numbers don’t lie. That’s why we always ask to take a look at existing analytics. Reviewing this data can be extremely helpful in identifying hidden insights, such as…
Popular pages that aren’t in the nav
User flows that don’t match stakeholder understandings
Pages that lead to higher bounce rates than others (highlighting potential UX weak points)
…and so much more.
Competitive Analysis:
Finally, we always recommend at least a brief competitive analysis. We work with our clients to find 1-3 competitors in the same industry, and assess how they’re handling their web presence. Similar to the independent review of our client’s site, we’d review the competitors’ sites in terms of design, UX and architectural flows, and general ease of use. These competitive reviews help us do a few things, such as…
Better familiarize ourselves with the client’s industry at large
Compare apples to apples to find vulnerabilities in our client’s site
Identify trends across design, copywriting, and UX pertaining to the associated client’s industry
Rein in potentially confusing or overly unique changes to avoid friction points with users