Discovery Meeting
The discovery meeting is a low-cost introduction to working with D2M. It is an opportunity to meet the designer(s) who will be working on your project, to discuss your requirements in detail and to explore the broader strategy around launching your product. This meeting enables us to fully understand your concept, build a proposal that is tailored to the unique needs of your project and establish the key goals you have.
Our Process
Initial Call and Review
In the initial enquiry call, you will have explained the concept and the development journey so far. If we think that a discovery meeting is the best first step, we will let you know in this call and send you a quote. The cost will vary depending on the length of the meeting and the number of designers involved. Once we have arranged the meeting, we will need you to supply as much information, design files, etc. that you can, prior to the meeting so that we can briefly review them and prepare for the discovery meeting.
The Discovery Meeting
In the meeting itself, we will look at the information and prototypes you have so far and you can demonstrate anything technical, to ensure the concept, project requirements and your goals are fully communicated. The designer or designers, who are meeting with you, will ask questions about the concept, highlighting any key concerns or design issues that are immediately apparent. They will take time to work with you to refine the design specification and discuss the broader strategic implications of the existing concept. Any specific queries you may have, about D2M, our design process and key requirements will be discussed in full, in order to build a complete picture of the project, you requirements and in order to establish the most cost effective and strategic route to market.
Design Specification & Project Proposal
Following the meeting, we will take time to write up any notes and the defined Design Specification. These will form the foundation for the project moving forward and will aid a smooth development journey. Using this information, we will also build a project proposal, which will outline the stages of work required for your project and detailed scope of work, timescales and estimated costs for each stage. Whilst it’s almost impossible to accurately map out the journey at this stage (particularly for prototype costs), we are able to provide estimates, which will give you a good understanding of what costs can be expected.
Meet your Designer
One of the biggest benefits of the Discovery Meeting is that you get to meet the designer(s), who will be working on the project moving forward. It gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you have, to get a feel for the company, see the studio and workshops and to begin to build a relationship with the team. As the design process is collaborative, it’s important that you have the opportunity to fully express what you would like to achieve and that everyone involved in the process is fully aligned right from the start. It’s an important opportunity to clear up any confusion or misinterpretations and to ensure that the project is fully understood by all parties.
Identify Challenges:
Sometimes, the potential challenges of the project, whether technical, financial or commercial, are obvious. Other challenges may be less obvious and require discussion, and analysis to uncover. The discovery meeting is a key opportunity to identify and assess the main challenges that will be faced and to discuss how these challenges and risks will be addressed and overcome during the design process. This process will also ensure that the bespoke proposal we build can take these challenges into account and we can allow time and budget to consider and resolve them. i.e. time to develop a basic physical model that tests whether a mechanism works. The estimates in the proposal are likely to be much more detailed and accurate following the meeting, enabling you to have a clearer understanding of the scope of work and the costs involved from the outset.
Refined Strategy
You may have clear goals for your project but be unsure how to reach them. If you’ve got an idea for a great innovative product but don’t know where to begin, or have started the journey but reached a difficult point and aren’t sure where to go next, the discovery meeting is a an excellent tool to establish the next steps. We will use our extensive knowledge and experience to explore and recommend the best strategy for developing and launching you new product. It’s important to set goals, identify any strengths and weaknesses and build a plan that addresses all the requirements of the project from the outset. The discovery meeting will help you to refine your product development strategy and set success criteria in the form of a design specification.
FAQs
What is a discovery meeting?
The discovery meeting is a low-cost introduction to working with D2M and an opportunity for both parties to discover as much as possible about the other. By the end of the discovery meeting, we will have a clear understanding of the project and the goals. You will hopefully gain valuable insight into working with D2M and also have a strategy for moving the project forward.
Why are discovery meetings important in project management?
When there are key technical requirements that are easier to explain face to face, or if you are struggling to establish the best strategy for moving your concept forward, this is a great starting point for planning the next steps and explaining any fundamentals to the designer before the project starts in earnest.
What topics are usually covered in a discovery meeting?
The topics we cover in the meeting vary from project to project. It’s important that any key technical requirements are explained or demonstrated. If there are prototypes to review, we will look at these together. Then we will discuss the next steps for moving the project forward and why they are important. It is always useful to know what your end goals are, so that we can tailor the development plan to your needs. Finally, if required, we can look at the broader strategies for launching your product.
Why does the discovery meeting cost money?
It’s helpful if you share any information you have about the project for us to review prior to the discovery meeting and bring along any prototypes etc. to the meeting itself. Any business plans, existing IP or other documentation that is of importance, help to build a picture of the key requirements for the project.
How to prepare for a successful discovery meeting?
It’s helpful if you share any information you have about the project for us to review prior to the discovery meeting and bring along any prototypes etc. to the meeting itself. Any business plans, existing IP or other documentation that is of importance, help to build a picture of the key requirements for the project.
Overview of Discovery Meeting
The discovery meeting is an ideal introduction to working with D2M. It is often the best first step when you already have a concept or prototypes, or there are processes or products that you’d like to demonstrate in person. It is an opportunity to visit our studio in Cheltenham, meet with the designer who would be working on your project. We will discuss your project in detail, focussing in on any key technical considerations or constraints and to consider the best route forward to ensure that you can succeed.
Firstly, we will explore the concept with you in detail. Looking at the current design and asking any questions we have about the USP, key product requirements, and the design thinking up to this point. It might be that the majority of the design is finalised, but there is a key mechanism that remains unresolved or that the design is currently not commercially viable due to the cost of materials or manufacturing processes inherent in the design. We will review the concept and make suggestions for potential improvements or changes, with a view to reducing costs, simplifying the design or removing expensive manufacturing processes. At this stage, this will be our initial thoughts, but we will explore these further in subsequent design stages, if you move forward with D2M.
Innovative product development is a collaborative effort to iterate and refine a concept before manufacturing, launching and ultimately selling the product to your target market. Whilst it’s a step by step process, and you may be it’s important to consider the broader product development strategy with you at the outset. There are a number of key skills required along the way, when you’re launching a new product, and the reality is that you may be stronger on the product side, or you might have more experience in marketing and sales. This meeting is a great place to work out where those strengths and weaknesses lie and make a plan to ensure that all aspects of the product launch are considered. We have a network of 3rd party experts, who we can introduce you to, specialising in sales, marketing, web developing, IP protection and manufacturing. Through the discovery meeting we can discuss which of these will be key contacts for you and plan the strategy for when and how to bring them onboard.
Our experience in taking innovative new products to market and helping others do the same, mean that we are well positioned to be able to assist you in prioritising the steps you need to take and what considerations need to be taken into account. Having a better understanding of your goals, through the discussions in the discovery meeting, enables us to plan a development journey that will deliver the end result you are looking for. We will discuss your target market and what your favoured route to market is, whether that’s B2C or D2C. We can explore where you would like to manufacture your product and in what volume. It’s also useful to explore what RRP you are aiming for, as this will have an impact on the design process, and the materials and production processes we recommend, whether you are looking to develop a high end, mid-range or budget product.
Some products require certification and have specific regulations that will need to be adhered to, for example baby products and toys, or electronics. If this is the case for your product, we can discuss the impact of these regulations on the design process in the discovery meeting and explore any limitations or concerns we have regarding your concept. We have excellent 3rd party providers who can carry out Product Safety Reviews at an early stage, in order to get feedback on the concept.
When funding is tight, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to make the most of the limited resources you have, to get to a stage where you have a concept that you can share with potential investors or interested 3rd parties. We can discuss the best strategy for using the funds you have to maximise your investability in the discovery meeting.
Following the discovery meeting, we will put together a bespoke proposal that will outline the stages of work we recommend for taking the project further and developing or finalising the design, ready for manufacture. This will be a bespoke proposal that will detail the scope of work involved and projected timescales. Whilst this won’t be set in stone, it will give you an understanding of the work and costs moving forward and lays the foundations for the development strategy.