Software & cloud · Discovery and specification

Discovery and specification: the document your project is built on.

Before anything is built, we work out what the system has to do, for whom, with which data and under which constraints — and write it down so that it can be priced, built, tested and, if you wish, taken to any other vendor.

Duration2–6 weeks, depending on scope

ResultA written specification, an architecture and a fixed-price proposal

PriceFixed fee, credited against the build if we do it

OwnershipThe specification is yours, whoever builds

Discovery is structured work, not a workshop with sticky notes. Its purpose is to find out what is actually needed — which is often smaller, and sometimes different, from what was first asked for.

Stakeholder interviews

Owners, users, finance and operations — goals, pain points, constraints, and the things nobody has written down.

Process mapping

How work is done today, step by step, including the exceptions and the workarounds that keep the business running.

Systems and data inventory

What exists — ERP, CRM, accounting, spreadsheets, e-mail — where data lives, what must be kept and what can be retired.

Constraints

Legal (GDPR and sector rules), budget, timeline, existing contracts and platforms, the skills of the people who will use and operate the system.

Prioritisation

Must, should and could; what the first release contains and what waits. The smallest system that solves the problem.

Build or configure

Whether an existing product, configured well, does the job — discovery ends there more often than people expect.

Functional specification

User roles and permissions
User stories or use cases with acceptance criteria
Screen flows and wireframes of the key screens
Business rules, validation, notifications, reports

Data model

Entities, relationships and fields
Retention and deletion rules
Migration of existing data: sources, mapping, cleaning

Integrations

Each external system: direction, data, frequency
Error handling and what happens when the other side is down
Authentication and access

Non-functional requirements

Performance targets and expected volumes
Availability, backup and recovery objectives
Security, data protection, audit requirements
Accessibility, languages, browsers and devices

Architecture

Components and how they communicate
Hosting on cloud: environments, deployment, monitoring
Why this design and not the alternatives

Delivery plan and estimate

Phases and milestones
Effort and a fixed price
Risks, assumptions and what you need to provide

Light discovery

One to two weeks. For a defined tool, an integration or a well-understood process. Result: a short specification, an architecture sketch and an estimate.

Full discovery

Four to six weeks. For a portal, a platform or the replacement of a core system. Result: the complete specification described above, a clickable prototype of the key screens, and a delivery plan with a fixed price.

Prototype

Available in both formats: a clickable prototype that your users can try before anything is built. It catches misunderstandings while they are still cheap.

Review of an existing document

If you already have requirements, we review them, close the gaps — usually data, integrations and non-functional requirements — and add architecture and estimate.

Kick-off day 1
Goals, participants, access to systems and documents, interview schedule.
Interviews and mapping weeks 1–2
Stakeholder interviews, process mapping, systems and data inventory.
Drafting and review weeks 2–4
The specification is drafted and reviewed with you in rounds; the prototype is built alongside.
Architecture and estimate weeks 3–5
Target architecture, hosting, delivery plan, effort and fixed price.
Hand-over final week
Specification, prototype and proposal presented; decision meeting. You keep everything, whatever you decide.

Interviews and workshops with the people who know the work.
Specification document functional and non-functional, with acceptance criteria.
Wireframes or a clickable prototype of the key screens.
Architecture document with hosting, environments and reasons.
Data model and migration approach.
Fixed-price proposal and plan phases, milestones, risks, assumptions.
Two review rounds included; more by agreement.

Why pay for a specification instead of getting a free quote?

A free quote without a specification is a guess, and the difference is paid later in change requests. A specification produces a fixed price with a known scope — and its fee is credited against the build if you continue with us.

Can we use the specification with another company?

Yes. It is written vendor-neutral and belongs to you. Some clients use it to tender.

We already have a requirements document.

Good — discovery is shorter. We review it, close the gaps and produce the architecture and estimate.

Do you specify for off-the-shelf software too?

Yes. Discovery often ends with a recommendation to configure an existing product rather than build; the specification then serves as the selection and implementation brief.

Software & cloud

Start with the problem, not the solution.

Tell us what is not working today. We reply within one business day with the discovery format that fits and its fixed fee.

Get a proposal office@getclicks.at