De-Risking Digital Transformation With Ecommerce Project Discovery

Successful ecommerce projects begin with clarity. Without a clear understanding of a business’ existing systems, processes and integrations, and their commercial objectives, projects risk being derailed by hidden complexity and unexpected challenges. That’s why at Swanky, we place such emphasis on our discovery process as part of every Shopify replatforming project.

Discovery is the foundation that supports every aspect of a digital transformation – from scoping and planning to execution and optimisation. Done well, it de-risks projects, creates alignment and velocity, and equips leadership teams with the confidence to progress.

This article explores what ecommerce project discovery looks like with Swanky, before unpacking the value it provides for all stakeholders.

What is the aim of an ecommerce project discovery?

Technical discovery is an in-depth, collaborative exercise designed to uncover how a brand’s digital ecosystem works today and how it needs to evolve. Typically, this comprehensive process looks to define a new ecommerce systems architecture and set out a project delivery roadmap.

At Swanky, our discovery output includes:

• scope definition, which clearly outlines what must be achieved by launch;

• documentation of all key features and integrations;

• a project budget, based upon agreed scope definition;

• clear roles and responsibilities for Swanky and the client;

• any identified risks and assumptions; and

• a post-launch roadmap, including sprint plans.

These outcomes provide the confidence and structure needed to proceed with complex projects, ensuring brands approach transformation strategically rather than reactively.

Who is involved in discovery?

At Swanky, discovery involves a cross-functional team of solutions engineers, developers, designers, strategists and project managers, working together with all key client stakeholders to ensure alignment.

Together, we take a consultative approach to solutions, combining technical expertise with commercial and operational understanding to ensure all perspectives are captured.

What does Swanky’s discovery process look like?

Discoveries are tailored specifically to our clients. Depending on the complexity of the project, the process can take anywhere between two weeks and three months.

Discovery is made up of a series of themed workshops to capture technical requirements and commercial objectives. We look to uncover business priorities, customer pain points and operational challenges. Here are some examples of workshop topics:

• Business overview
• Integrations and systems architecture
• Product and data architecture
• Customers and ordering
• Design and branding
• Store UX/UI
• Data migration
• SEO and content
• Analytics and BI
• Customer feedback
• Payments
• Internationalisation

We can compose additional workshops, depending on specific client requirements.

During the discovery phase, we also organise demos with key vendors and integration partners, in order to give clients a clear understanding of how potential solutions will work in practice. These sessions help stakeholders see functionality first-hand, ask questions directly and make informed decisions about which tools will best support their long-term goals.

Within this time, we also develop key wireframes and concepts to bring ideas to life visually. This helps stakeholders understand how proposed solutions will look and function, making it easier to align on user experience, refine requirements and build confidence in the project direction before development begins.

We document our findings throughout, and at the end of the discovery process host a comprehensive playback session. This includes:

• presenting our key takeaways and recommended approaches;

• outlining proposed delivery phases and associated costs;

• outlining post-launch activity and out of scope items; and

• inviting feedback on scope proposal and discovery documentation, in order for the delivery plan to be refined.

What are the benefits of a discovery with Swanky?

A thorough discovery phase is the foundation of a successful replatforming or redesign project. It creates value in multiple ways, both for immediate project delivery and long-term business strategy.

1. Uncover & resolve risks early

Legacy systems often hold hidden complexities. By identifying technical constraints, data integrity issues or integration challenges at the outset, we can design solutions that mitigate risks before they disrupt the project.

This proactive approach helps avoid costly surprises later down the road, alleviates the risk of downtime, protects project timelines and ultimately ensures smoother delivery.

2. Create shared vision & clarity around the project roadmap

Our discovery workshops provide a space to consolidate perspectives and align different teams around a shared understanding of what the project will deliver. This reduces ambiguity, provides a framework for decision making, and ensures each stakeholder has visibility on how the project supports broader business goals.

Successful discovery ensures that we deliver the client’s vision, rather than build something which isn’t fit-for-purpose.

3. Maximise project velocity

Transformation projects are often driven by urgent, business-critical requirements. This could be an impending licence renewal, departure of key stakeholders holding core IP relating to legacy systems, or even a burning platform that needs immediate triage/replacement. However, the old mantra “more haste, less speed” typically holds true, and too many projects fail because of rushed decisions around architecture or requirements.

Investing the right amount of time (even if highly accelerated) in careful discovery ensures that we can accelerate velocity in production, confident that we will be able to deliver against even the tightest of implementation timetables.

4. Build trust & confidence for stakeholders

We understand that a replatforming or redesign project can be daunting for leadership teams investing significant time, budget and resources. A detailed discovery output demonstrates that risks have been carefully considered and addressed.

This transparency fosters trust, reassures stakeholders and builds confidence in the project roadmap. In some instances, standalone discovery provides the compelling business case that client stakeholders need in order to get full project sign-off.

5. Inform long-term strategy

Discovery insights can continue to shape smart, strategic choices long after the initial project. For example, information gained in the discovery phase around customer journeys can guide future investment in marketing automation.

By delivering these benefits, discovery offers a clear return on investment. Ultimately, it ensures that the final solution is fit for purpose and scalable – protecting long-term investment and enabling faster growth.

The added value of in-person discovery sessions

Whilst remote collaboration tools enable us to run effective discovery sessions with our clients, we find that there is significant added value in conducting these workshops in-person.

Being on-site allows our team to observe first-hand how a client’s systems, processes and teams interact on a daily basis. We can immerse ourselves in your environment, getting a much deeper understanding of how your business operates whilst gaining insights which may have been missed during a remote session. This level of context is invaluable when scoping solutions and recommending technologies. It’s surprising how often a walk around a warehouse, or observing the physical dynamics of a client’s team, help to provide deeper understanding and insight that unlocks greater value in the solution we deliver.

Meeting face-to-face also creates space for richer, more open conversations, helping to build trust and rapport more quickly between our team and client stakeholders. In-person sessions encourage collaboration, reduce miscommunication, and create an environment where stakeholders feel comfortable raising concerns, sharing frustrations, and brainstorming ideas. These are all important ingredients for building strong, meaningful relationships with clients.

On-site sessions also make it easier for different departments to align around a shared vision – reducing friction during later stages of the project.

Our clients often comment on the energy and momentum generated by in-person discovery workshops. With dedicated, focused time away from day-to-day pressures, teams can engage more deeply in the discovery process, ensuring projects start on the strongest possible foundation.

Ecommerce project discovery in practice: Client feedback

Our clients consistently highlight technical discovery as being a thoughtful and valuable process that not only uncovers crucial technical detail, but also brings clarity and confidence to their teams. They tell us it helps them feel better prepared for change, more aligned across departments, and reassured that risks have been addressed before significant investment begins.

In a recent US-based in-person discovery, our team visited the ePackageSupply team on-site in their Indiana warehouse. They conducted five discovery sessions, giving them the opportunity to explore the business in depth.

Together with key client stakeholders, they mapped out the company’s overall vision and operational model, before turning attention to their customers and the intricacies of the ordering process. They reviewed existing technology and integrations, identifying opportunities for improvement and areas of potential risk.

Other sessions focused on products, personalisation and front-end functionality, considering how design and user experience could support both brand storytelling and streamlined purchasing.

This immersive, on-site approach provided the insight needed to build a tailored roadmap for ePackageSupply’s digital transformation project.

Sharing this feedback on the discovery process, Michael Wittmeyer, Investor & Managing Director at ePackageSupply, commented:

“Discovery itself was excellent, very organised and clearly well prepared. The week was incredibly productive – that was the cleanest discovery workshop process I’ve ever been through. You kept us on topic and on schedule, and we quickly identified potential pain points / methods for solving. 

“I really have no critiques of the discovery process. The time in-person was incredibly valuable. We appreciate the thoughtfulness behind your recommendations.”

Start your Shopify project the right way with Swanky

If your business is planning a digital transformation, commerce replatforming project or significant website redesign and you want to approach it with confidence, our team is here to help. As a leading Shopify Platinum Partner, Swanky has helped hundreds of brands from across the globe to unlock their ecommerce potential.

Get in touch to learn more about how our technical discovery process can reduce risk, build alignment and set projects up for long-term success.