Did you know that skipping the software development discovery phase during AI solution development can actually make your project more expensive? It’s not even to mention the fact that by foregoing discovery, you basically go into software creation without a solid plan. So, not only can you be surprised by multiple added costs, but your whole product might also fail.

It’s during the discovery phase that the AI development experts you hire will analyze the market, industry, and niche you are planning to target. Also, they will ascertain that your product development plan fits within your resources and evaluate projected returns. Meaning, this is the step where you can make sure that the idea you have is feasible. And if the experts discover some weaknesses or issues, you can work together to plan for and prevent them from becoming real problems.

That was the simplest of explanations of why the discovery phase of product development is a must-have for any project. However, let’s dive deeper into it and discuss in detail what exactly happens at this project stage, how much it will cost you, and what you’ll get at the end of it.

As the name suggests, the discovery phase of the project is the initial step when the idea is evaluated from various standpoints. During this step, you will work with the AI development team to achieve the following:

• Clearly define the project’s objectives
• Estimate the product’s technical feasibility
• Identify and analyze the risks
• Develop a clear project roadmap
• Define the Unique Value Proposition (UVP) for your product

The discovery phase team must include multiple experts. On the client side, you need to include the Product Owner and/or any specialist who will head the project on your end. Meanwhile, when working with Alltegrio, our side of the discovery team will include:

• Business Analyst
• Data Architect
• Software development team (can include front-end, back-end, and full-stack developers, depending on the project)
• AI solution engineer
• UI/UX Designer
• Project Manager
• DevOps specialist
• QA engineer

The exact team composition will depend on the project’s specifics. For example, if you want to build a big AI product from scratch, the team might include several AI experts and a Solution Architect. However, if you only need to integrate some new features into the existing platform, we will find experts in this specific architecture to advise. 

All in all, regardless of whether you are a business owner planning to expand your system with AI or an aspiring entrepreneur with a stellar idea for an AI startup, at Alltegrio, we will provide a discovery phase team of professionals with experience in the specific technologies, systems, and industry you need. We always strive to deliver personalized experiences that make each of our custom solutions perfectly tailored to your exact needs. The discovery phase of product development is the step that allows us to define those needs together and ensure your budget is used to deliver maximum value on every invested dollar.

As we said before, the team composition for the discovery pase of product development might change. The cost, as it usually is in IT projects, depends on the number of experts involved and the duration of the project.

That said, the average cost of an AI solution discovery phase is around $10,000 at the current market rates. This number might go up to about $15,000, depending on the project’s size, complexity, and requirement to involve specialists with narrow specializations.

As to the duration, the majority of companies would take about 4 weeks to complete a general software development discovery phase. At Alltegrio, our experience and the team of Ph.D.-level AI development professionals allow us to provide the first results in 3 weeks.

The discovery phase of product development for AI solutions usually covers the following:

• Market and Industry Research
  Understanding the competitive landscape, identifying opportunities, and studying industry-specific AI use cases.
• Defining Business Objectives
  Identifying the specific problems AI will solve and aligning the solution with business goals.
• Data Assessment and Collection
  Auditing current datasets, identifying data gaps, and preparing data for AI model training.
• Technical Feasibility Analysis
  Identifying current infrastructure, potential AI frameworks, and scalability.
• Defining Success Metrics
  Creating measurable goals to assess the performance and effectiveness of the AI solution.
• Cost and Resource Planning
  Delivering budget estimates, expertise required, and timeline anticipation.

What Are the Goals and Deliverables of the AI Solution Development Discovery Phase?

When working with Alltegrio, the AI software development discovery phase will provide the following deliverables:

• BMPN (Business Process Model and Notation) and User Workflow diagrams that visualize the users’ behaviors within the planned system.
• Prototypes and/or, if possible, clickable visual prototypes that offer a complete visualization of the future solution.
• A package of SRS (Software Requirement Specifications) documentation that offers a detailed explanation of the solution’s technical and functional requirements.
• AI solution architecture diagram that visualizes the system infrastructure with all expected integrations.
• Precise project timeline and budget.

• Reducing Risks and Preventing Costly Mistakes
  Investing in AI without a roadmap typically results in the inefficient allocation of resources. The discovery phase helps businesses identify potential issues, such as data limitations, scalability, or unrealistic assumptions. By addressing these risks early, you can prevent costly mistakes and delays in development.
• Aligning AI Solutions to Business Objectives
  One of the biggest challenges for AI implementation is ensuring the technology is applied for a real business purpose. The discovery phase of product development aligns AI capabilities with your business objectives, ensuring that the solution is both technologically viable and commercially valid.
• Ensuring Data Readiness and Quality
  AI solutions are only as good as the data they are trained on. Poor data quality, missing datasets, or biased training data can significantly impact performance. During the discovery phase, we will assess your organization’s data infrastructure, identify data gaps, and take necessary steps to ensure a good foundation for model training.
• Technical Feasibility and Scalability Analysis
  AI adoption requires high-performance computing facilities, alignment with existing systems, and continuous learning abilities. The software development discovery phase considers whether the current infrastructure is aligned to support AI integration and ascertains whether any additional technical requirements for scalability are necessary.
• Firm Budgeting and Resource Commitment
  Due to unforeseen complexities, AI projects are susceptible to cost overruns. The discovery phase provides a realistic budget estimation by ascertaining the project scope, technical requirements, and required resources. This allows decision-makers to allocate budgets effectively and prevents the wastage of funds.

Bear in mind that the ability to outline a precise budget for an AI software development project is the most important benefit of the discovery phase. Simply put, when you delve into custom AI development, skipping this step, you will likely see unplanned costs growing with every sprint. It’s because the project doesn’t have an exactly defined and estimated plan. Therefore, whenever the development team makes any progress, they might face issues requiring adding new features or integrations or completely reworking the code to allow for some new changes. All this can be prevented simply by doing quality work during the discovery phase.

What Comes Next in AI Software Development?

The discovery phase of software development is the most cost-effective way to start an AI project. If you are determined to make sure you get the best quality product for your money, the next stage will be moving on to MVP development.

At Alltegrio, we have experience with multiple types of AI projects, from proof of concept development to complex platforms featuring Computer Vision OCR  and other technologies. Our team stands ready to help you flesh out your ideas about AI and find the best way to implement them in order to ensure high ROI. Whether you are looking to launch a custom AI solution, Machine Learning platform or monetize your data effectively, let’s work together to find the best way to make it a reality.