01
Understand the audience
Map audience needs, questions, existing content and journeys, including the information people need to make a decision.
Solutions · 01
What should we understand before we build?
Start by understanding audience needs, separating evidence from assumptions, and identifying the opportunities and priorities worth exploring before choosing technology.
Solutions · 01
Start with the question behind the request.
Discovery clarifies who matters, what people need, what is already known, what remains uncertain, and where effort could create useful change.
02
Separate evidence from assumptions
Record what is known, what is assumed and which evidence gaps need attention before committing to a direction.
03
Prioritise opportunities
Connect observed needs to practical opportunities instead of treating every possible feature as a priority.
04
Turn findings into direction
Document clear priorities and information-architecture or content recommendations that can be reviewed and tested.
What discovery clarifies
Move from a broad request to a testable direction.
A useful discovery process makes uncertainty visible instead of hiding it behind a technology choice.
The audience and their needs
Identify the people, needs and questions that matter to the work, including where different audiences require different journeys.
The evidence gaps
Record what is known, what is assumed and what still needs to be tested before a major decision is made.
The opportunity and priorities
Connect observed needs to a practical opportunity and make the reasons for prioritising work clear.
The next useful step
Turn findings into bounded recommendations that can be designed, implemented, reviewed and changed as evidence improves.
A practical example
When visitors cannot tell what a business offers.
Discovery can examine whether service descriptions, audience needs and next steps are clear. The resulting recommendations should follow the evidence found, rather than promise a particular ranking or traffic outcome.
The principle
Useful digital work should make the next decision clearer.
The work is described according to what can be demonstrated, implemented and independently verified.