Discovery is a mindset that shapes strategy, not just ‘solutions’
Photo by Sesha Reddy Kovvuri on Unsplash
A good discovery is like good therapy: it fundamentally changes our understanding of a problem. It can be uncomfortable and challenging for teams and stakeholders, and often reveals the unexpected. And importantly, it’s not simply a precursor to the ‘real work’ of delivery; it sets the strategy and tone for everything that follows.
Discovery as a mindset
I’ve come to think of discovery as a mindset rather than a codified set of activities:
What’s preventing us or our users from achieving the desired outcome?
Why is the problem happening?
Is it worth solving, and to what extent?
What would meaningful improvement look like?
This last point isn’t about solutions – it’s the outcome (‘users can do X’ rather than ‘we build feature Y’). If we’re unclear on the outcome we’re aiming for, real discovery will expose it.
More than ‘just research’
Discovery isn’t just about gathering data. It’s about making sense of it – connecting dots, understanding different system actor perspectives, and envisioning what ‘better’ might look like. It’s not about deciding what to build, but understanding the roadblocks and focusing on the problem that’s worth solving – for both customers and the organisation.
Too often, organisations focus discovery on validating ideas rather than questioning assumptions. Discovery isn’t about proving an idea right; it’s about challenging our understanding of the problem.
When building something isn’t the answer
Sometimes, the best discovery outcome is choosing not to build. Avoiding wasted effort, resources, and unintended consequences can be even more valuable than creating something new.
One of my proudest achievements as a product manager in government was preventing the development of an ill-conceived product, despite intense pressure. The following is a somewhat reductive analogy, but it captures the essence of what happened.
The Lightning Bucket problem
I joined a government department just after a public announcement that a new application was to be developed – and this was to be my first experience of leading a discovery.
What follows is fictional in as much as the actual problem had nothing to do with leaky roofs in schools. However, the challenge and dynamics were the same.
The problem as presented to me was that school roofs often spring leaks, and staff lose valuable time setting out and moving buckets to catch the drips. Research had suggested school staff were frustrated by this, so the minister proposed that a ‘Lightning Bucket’ app be created to enable them to move buckets at lightning speed and therefore help them focus on their real jobs.
However, when we started listening to school staff, we uncovered a different story. Staff weren’t allowed to fix roofs, and the roof tiles weren’t designed to withstand heavy rainfall. The problem wasn’t the speed of moving buckets - it was that the roofs leaked in the first place.
The power of discovery
The turning point came when we reframed the challenge for stakeholders, from validating the minister’s proposed solution to the actual outcome they wanted to achieve: schools where staff and pupils weren’t distracted by leaking roofs. The app wasn’t going to solve the problem – and it would likely burden staff further.
Once that disconnect was clear, we could explore meaningful alternatives. Through a curious, discovery mindset, we revealed a larger opportunity for meaningful change: policy that empowered schools to prevent leaks rather than manage them.
And that’s the power of good discovery: it changes our understanding of what’s happening and why, to ensure we tackle the actual problem, not just the symptoms.
Does this sound familiar?
We’ve all seen a version of a ‘Lightning Bucket’ – a well-intended but misguided solution that only addresses symptoms, not root causes.
What’s yours? Where has discovery changed your understanding of a problem?
Get in touch for a chat
If any of this resonates with you and your journey in product management and leadership I’d love to hear about it in comments, or you can arrange a free initial chat with me about coaching.
