Discovery
Discovery
Roko Platform puts discovery goals on the roadmap next to delivery goals, and links each goal to the evidence that answered it.
Discovery is the work that decides what to build. Roko Platform does not replace conversations with customers. It keeps discovery work visible next to delivery and holds the evidence. Best practices covers the practice itself.
Discovery goals
A goal on the Roadmap has one of four kinds. Two of them are discovery kinds:
| Kind | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Product discovery | Finding out what is true about an outcome the user sees |
| Enabling discovery | Finding out what is true about what the product or the system needs |
| Product delivery | Building an outcome the user sees, already pinned down |
| Enabling delivery | Building what the product or the system needs, already pinned down |
The app states the rule as: "Discovery finds out; delivery builds." Put interview rounds, assumption tests and prototypes on the roadmap as product discovery goals, and spikes as enabling discovery goals. The roadmap draws discovery goals with a dashed border, so the team sees how much of the week goes to finding out. A delivery goal can depend on the discovery goal that answers its open question. See Roadmaps.
- 1An enabling discovery goal: a spike.
- 2A product discovery goal.
Evidence
The Discover group in the project navigation holds Artifacts and Prototypes.
- Artifacts hold documents and diagrams: interview transcripts, research notes, assumption maps and draw.io diagrams. The New artifact dialog offers templates named Transcript, JTBD, Risks and Research.
- Prototypes hold interfaces that the team builds to learn from, with versions, flavors and comments on elements. See Prototypes.
A goal's Links section can reference an artifact or a prototype as evidence. Link the transcript or the prototype that answered a discovery goal, so the evidence stays next to the decision.
Prototypes and technical discovery
A prototype shows how people could use the product. It tests usability, presents options to a client, or makes an idea tangible. An agent builds several flavors and publishes them to the platform, and the team comments on elements. A spike answers a question about the build. It runs as an enabling discovery goal and ends in a write-up, a diagram or a decision record.