A new website, a platform migration, an integration that needs to work a particular way. Before you commit to development, there are usually a few things to work out.
We help you turn those questions into a practical plan. We investigate requirements, review existing systems, compare approaches and test the parts that carry the most uncertainty. You leave with a clearer picture of what is involved, what needs to happen first and how to move forward.
Can your current platform support the next stage of the business? How will two systems exchange information? What will it take to move years of content into a new CMS?
We begin by agreeing what discovery needs to resolve. That gives the work a clear purpose and keeps the investigation proportionate to the decision you need to make.
We speak with the people who use and manage the system, understand the work they need to do, and turn those conversations into requirements that can guide a build.
An existing website or application comes with history. There may be custom functionality, business rules, manual workarounds and connections to other systems that are easy to miss in an initial brief.
We review the relevant code, content structure, data and integrations to understand what is already there. We look at how information moves, who maintains it and where the current setup creates friction.
This helps establish what can be retained, what needs attention and what a replacement would need to account for.
There is often more than one way to solve the problem. An existing platform feature, a third-party service, an extension to your current system or a custom application may all be worth considering.
We compare options against your requirements, budget, timeline and the team responsible for running the result. That includes the ongoing implications: subscriptions, hosting, maintenance, ownership and how easily the system can adapt.
Our recommendations explain the trade-offs and the reasoning behind the preferred approach.
An API being available is the starting point. We investigate whether it exposes the information and actions your workflow needs, what permissions are required and which questions need an answer from the provider.
Where access allows, we test the critical steps in a sandbox or controlled environment. We consider incomplete data, repeated updates, failed requests and the work someone will need to do when an automated process needs attention.
The findings make clear what has been demonstrated and what remains dependent on access, provider confirmation or further testing.
Some questions are easier to answer with something working.
We can build a focused prototype to explore an interaction, test an import, connect two systems or walk through a key workflow. We agree what the test needs to demonstrate, then use the result to refine the recommendation and scope.
A prototype gives the project something concrete to assess. Its purpose and limits are documented so everyone understands what has been tested and what development remains.
Moving platforms means understanding the information you are taking with you.
We assess content types, records, relationships and files, along with the rules that give them meaning. That might include membership history, product variants, event listings or the way a content team builds and publishes pages.
We identify what needs mapping, cleaning up or restructuring, and where a sample import would help test the approach. We also consider how the new system will be checked against the old one and how updates will be managed around a cutover.
Technical discovery connects the individual requirements into a workable architecture.
We map which system owns each record, how updates travel between services and where staff need visibility or control. We consider user access, content management, hosting and operational responsibilities alongside the features people will use.
The result gives designers, developers and stakeholders a shared reference for how the pieces fit together, with dependencies and open decisions made visible.
Once the approach is understood, we define the work required to deliver it.
We separate essential requirements from later improvements, break the project into sensible stages and identify decisions or third-party inputs that affect the sequence. Estimates are tied to the scope and its assumptions, with remaining unknowns explained.
Discovery may confirm the original direction, narrow the first release or point towards a different solution. The recommendation follows the findings.
We agree the outputs at the start. Depending on the engagement, these can include:
The documentation gives your team a useful basis for decisions, internal approval and development.
You can engage us for technical discovery on its own or as part of a larger project.
The work might centre on one integration question, a platform comparison or a prototype. A more involved project may need stakeholder workshops, system and data mapping, and a detailed implementation brief. We agree the scope around the decisions you need to make.
Bring us your brief, your existing system or the technical question holding things up. We will help you understand the options and define the next step.