The Discovery Process with Health Connective

So many of today’s critical business needs cannot be solved with existing systems. The medtech industry is rapidly evolving, and there are times when only a custom-fit solution will suffice.

Unless you come from a highly technical background, you may struggle with developing your idea into a complete plan for a fully functional application. This is where the discovery process is particularly helpful.

Here’s how you can get started on a discovery process with Health Connective.

Conducting a Discovery Process

By the end of your discovery process, we want to check the following boxes:

By addressing each of these items, we can create the roadmap you need to move forward with the project. Keeping the core business need at the center of the process will help with determining the size of the solution you need.

One of the first steps we take during the discovery process is to work with you to define the problem. After all, the problem is ultimately what the end product should help to solve.

Along with this, we also want to learn how the lack of a solution is “costing” you and your team. Is it affecting your efficiency? Your ability to get work done? Your customer satisfaction? Even if you can’t directly tie a problem to a loss of dollars, these are all valid reasons to invest in an application that will positively impact your team.

Perhaps you have some existing solutions or workflows that attempt to address the issue, but are falling short. That will also be important to note during this phase of the discovery process because it helps us identify what will not work as a viable solution.

Gathering Intel

Once we have clearly defined the problem, the next step will be to gather some intel on a couple of key groups: stakeholders and end-users. Both of these groups will have specific needs that you must address with the application to have a successful end product. This part of the process ideally involves interviews or feedback from representatives of these groups.

For stakeholders, you need their buy-in to get your project off the ground. It will be important to note any questions or concerns they may have, and what justification they need to give the approval to move forward.

Your end-users are also an important group, because they are the ones who will be impacted the most by the new application. If the end product doesn’t adequately address the end-user’s needs, then it will be difficult to get them to use it. And if your intended users don’t want to use the application, then your ROI for the application won’t be as great as you’d hoped.

Considering Your Options

Now that we’ve identified the problem and needs for potential solutions, it’s time to start thinking about the pathway forward.

The first thing we consider in this phase of the discovery process is whether existing software can fill the need you have, or if there is a way to customize or update the tools you have to meet those needs. We will review and compare existing solutions to see if there is anything that might work for you, or if there is anything that might be close and have customization capabilities. If your company has any existing custom applications, we can also investigate how much of a lift it might need to fit your current needs. It may be possible to update it, or it might be better to just start from scratch.

That said, if your problem is highly specific or unique to your company, custom application development might be the best way to go. Based on the problem and the identified needs of stakeholders and end-users, we can start to define what those applications might look like and what technical system you might need to facilitate your needs.

The Solution

Now, we are at the last step of the discovery process: recommending a solution and defining the specifics. At this point, we will be able to define:

How our recommended application will meet business needs
The functionality the application must have
The technical system that will deliver the functionality you need
The budget and timeline needed to complete the project

As we define the solution, it’s also important for us to consider how your business’s needs may evolve over time. As such, we may ask your team to consider how you might expand or update your solution going forward. We can then recommend how an application might be built from the start with future evolution in mind. This can save you a headache down the road when you need to make changes.

Ready to Get Started?

At Health Connective, we’ve helped several medtech companies complete their discovery phase, and can do the same for you.

The Cost

The total cost of our discovery process is quoted based on the complexity of your application, your current workflow, and the number of stakeholders and end-users we need to interview to help gather the necessary information, starting at $10,000.

What You Will Receive at the End of a Discovery Process

A business requirements document that spells out everything application developers need to know about the project
A quote for our team to complete the project

Next Steps

If you are interested in starting a discovery phase with Health Connective, please fill out the form below and our team will contact you with next steps.

(Not into forms? Reach out to Michael Roberts on LinkedIn to get the conversation started.)