Breaking down the 4 W’s of Salesforce Discovery and Preventing Rework

The Discovery Phase is the reconnaissance mission of your Salesforce project. Yet, too often, teams rush through it, resulting in incomplete requirements, frustrated stakeholders, and costly rework months later.

Contained Agile Methodology Process (CAMP)^TM Rule #2 is your guardrail against this rush: Know the 4 W’s: Discovery is Who, What, Where, and When. This simple framework ensures you gather comprehensive context, not just a list of features.

Breaking Down the 4 W’s of Salesforce Discovery

The 4 W’s are the core questions you must answer during any effective Discovery session:

1. WHO is involved in 4 W’s of Salesforce Discovery?

   • The Focus: People, Roles, and Responsibilities.

   • Examples: Who is the end-user? Who performs the approval step? Who needs to see this report? This prevents designing a solution for the wrong audience.
     

2. WHAT exists today, in terms of systems, tools, processes?

   • The Focus: Business processes and pain points (The current state) 

   • Examples: What are the manual steps in the lead-to-opportunity process? What steps take the longest? This defines the gap the new system must close.
     

3. WHERE do you want to go?

   • The Focus: New Business processes (desired state).

   • Examples: How is the system going to automate the current manual steps? Is this old process needed any longer (outdated rule or business requirement)? How can we use AI to help our customers?
     

4. WHEN does this project need to be done by?

   • The Focus: Timing, Deadlines, and/or important milestones ​​(confirm timeline).

   • Examples: Define the project's purpose, objectives, and scope. Identify the stakeholders, establish clear project goals, and define the project's success criteria. Identify potential risks and uncertainties that may impact the project's success.
     

How the 4 W’s Prevent Rework

The most significant benefit of a thorough 4 W’s Discovery is the prevention of rework. When you understand the full context:

• Requirements are precise: You move from "The sales team needs an email tool" to "The account executive needs to send a mass email to 50 contacts after a stage change, and the email must be compliant with CAN-SPAM laws."

• Assumptions are eliminated: Ambiguity is surfaced and resolved early, where it is cheapest to fix.

• Solutions are strategic: You design a solution that fits the actual user environment and operational schedule.
  

The full Contained Agile Methodology Process (CAMP)^TM Course provides detailed interview guides, templates for documenting the 4 W's, and techniques for validating this critical information with stakeholders to ensure you build the right solution the first time.

➡️ Stop rebuilding what you already built. Master Discovery with CAMP: Link to CAMP Course: https://www.trailguidecrm.com/camp