There are always one of two problems for a new project, product or service to come about. Firstly there’s a business issue or inefficiency that needs to be solved, or, secondly there’s an output required eg. customers require an app or self service area, therefore requiring a new product or development.
Either one of these use cases leaves us with the same questions:
- Is this possible?
- How will this work?
And that’s where scoping comes into play.
What is scoping and why do it?
Every agency approaches scoping in different ways, but the output needed is broadly the same.
Jumping in at the deep end, devising a solution and choosing which path to take without scoping is purely based on assumption. The danger of ploughing forward in this way is a false economy, the likelihood of having to re-do work, make changes or even completely start again is high. This not only costs money but can add months to your release date, allowing competitors to launch before you and take a market advantage.
Scoping on the other hand, mitigates these risks and helps us to compile a plan in an objective way. At Mashbo, we question the requirements, look at your users and different use cases to really get to the bottom of the requirements. Discussions with stakeholders, along with our technical team really help to mould and develop a plan that not only meets the requirements but pinpoints technical challenges and potential obstacles.
How does Mashbo scoping work?
We have a tiered approach to scoping as one size won’t always fit all. The tiers depend on the scale and scope of your project. We meet with your stakeholders to workshop the requirements, understand the core aims and potential KPIs for the project to begin with and then put together your full technical requirements to guide us in our decisions.
Scoping isn’t just a workshop though; there are a range of outputs that come from each of our scoping sessions. We compile a scoping report including the main product idea and technical requirements, strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities along with your core business objectives. These don’t just inform your product or technical solution, they can be used across all of your business. We then create the goals, project timeline, investment for the project and package everything up so that we have a clear project plan, direction and focus to move forward with.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail
Our process is tried and tested and we understand that no project is the same as another. We mould our scoping to work with the scale and type of your project.
This level of preparation minimises the risk of failure. The thorough process allows us to understand potential obstacles and eliminate them before we’ve even got started.
Although the launch of a product or new service steals the limelight and scoping sits as a phase in the background, we shouldn’t forget the benefits and importance of planning right at the start.
To kick start your digital and tech thinking contact us via studio@mashbo.com or call 0151 708 1924.