Technical Discovery and Feasibility

Some projects should not begin with a development estimate.

When the requirement involves existing systems, unknown technical constraints or several possible approaches, the most valuable first step can be a short technical discovery phase.

WDWD Industries provides independent technical discovery and feasibility work to establish what is possible, what is already available and what approach is likely to be practical.

Why discovery matters

An initial request may sound straightforward:

• build an application;
• integrate two systems;
• automate a process;
• connect a device;
• replace some existing software.

The complexity often appears only after looking at the systems involved.

A discovery phase can identify these issues before they become expensive implementation problems.

Questions discovery can answer

A technical investigation may establish:

• what systems already exist;
• which interfaces are available;
• where the relevant data is stored;
• what technical restrictions apply;
• what can be reused;
• what needs to be replaced;
• whether an integration is feasible;
• what security requirements exist;
• which assumptions need testing;
• what the highest-risk areas are.

Understanding existing systems

Most business technology projects do not begin with a blank sheet of paper.

The existing environment may include:

• legacy applications;
• databases;
• spreadsheets;
• third-party platforms;
• hardware;
• internal networks;
• cloud services;
• undocumented processes;
• manual workarounds.

Understanding these elements can change the design of the project significantly.

Testing assumptions

Where an important assumption is uncertain, it can often be tested directly.

For example:

• Can the required data be obtained?
• Does the third-party API support the necessary operation?
• Can the device communicate reliably?
• Is the existing database suitable?
• Can the workflow operate with intermittent connectivity?
• Can authentication be integrated safely?

A small technical experiment can sometimes eliminate a large amount of uncertainty.

Feasibility is not only technical

A solution can be technically possible but commercially unreasonable.

Feasibility should also consider:

• development effort;
• ongoing maintenance;
• supplier dependencies;
• operational complexity;
• licensing;
• security;
• reliability;
• user impact.

The best solution is not necessarily the most technically ambitious one.

Typical discovery outputs

A discovery engagement may produce:

• a current-system overview;
• architecture diagrams;
• identified constraints;
• prototype findings;
• integration options;
• technical risks;
• recommended next steps;
• an implementation outline.

The purpose is to give decision-makers enough information to choose what happens next.

When discovery is particularly valuable

Discovery is useful when:

• the project involves a legacy system;
• several suppliers or technologies are involved;
• documentation is poor;
• nobody fully understands the current architecture;
• the requirement is unusual;
• estimates vary significantly between suppliers;
• a previous implementation attempt has failed;
• a large investment depends on an untested technical assumption.

How WDWD Industries can help

WDWD Industries can investigate a technical requirement before a full implementation project begins.

Typical work includes:

• architecture investigation;
• code and system review;
• API investigation;
• feasibility testing;
• prototyping;
• technical risk analysis;
• integration planning;
• implementation recommendations.

If you need to understand the technical reality of a project before committing to a larger piece of work, contact WDWD Industries at https://wdwd.industries/enquiries.