Getting ready for business discovery

If you have primarily focused on technology in the past, you might not be fully comfortable with the notion of leading business discovery. With some experience and confidence gained, you might soon find yourself talking with people who can provide funding for Industrial Internet projects, such as the following:

• Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• President or Vice President of one of the business operating units
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
• Members of the Board of Directors

You might not fully understand the sort of conversation needed to advance an IT project from an idea to a funded business solution. You must first gain an appropriate level of business understanding so that you can ask the right questions during discovery and find compelling potential projects.

We've used the following useful techniques in preparation for business discovery interviews in the past:

• Research recent company annual reports, quarterly financial statements, and other news, paying especially close attention to the problems that are identified and the needed changes that are described by senior executives
• Research posted jobs on job sites for roles in the departments where you plan to interview leadership, as these can give clues as to where investments in new skills are occurring
• Research recent annual reports, quarterly financial statements, and other news provided by the company's competitors and pay especially close attention when they describe their business challenges and provide guidance on their innovative strategies
• Read publications that describe new and emerging business strategies, such as those published by the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, McKinsey & Company research, and other forms of business research
• If you have junior-level contacts in the lines of business, get their views on the business challenges they face and what they believe the leadership's strategies to be

This might seem to be a bit excessive to some of you. Unfortunately, our experience is that many in technology roles are often unaware of the emerging business trends impacting their business or what the company's business leaders are planning to do next to address their biggest challenges. This is time well spent.