Preparing for a customization discovery call

Discovery calls go poorly when attendees explore requirements for the first time on the call. Prepare briefly so conversation focuses on decisions—not archaeology.

Invite the right people

• Business owner who can prioritize workflows
• Daily user representative (sales, ops, finance, or support)
• Technical contact who knows hosting, integrations, and constraints
• Decision-maker for scope trade-offs—or explicit authority to schedule follow-up

Bring these materials

• Short description of business outcome (not only feature list)
• Workflow sketch: happy path plus two common exceptions
• Systems involved (CRM, billing, identity, email, etc.)
• Examples of reports or screens you wish existed
• Known deadlines and compliance constraints

Clarify boundaries upfront

• What must stay on the product upgrade path
• What integrations are launch-critical vs phase two
• Internal capacity for testing, training, and ongoing admin

Questions we may ask

• Who uses this daily and what breaks if it fails?
• What manual work exists today?
• What did you try already (spreadsheets, other tools)?
• How will you measure success ninety days after launch?

After discovery

Expect a written summary: proposed phases, assumptions, exclusions, and open questions. Compare with custom software scoping guidance when scope grows beyond customization.

Contact to schedule when materials are ready—not perfect.