Data Discovery Sessions

Discovery sessions are an effective approach to effectively gather information from staff across your department. There is no set format for a discovery session. Discovery session questions will be context-specific to your department’s needs and the program(s) related to a data set.

Some key aspects of an effective discovery session include:

• Research Ahead of Time: Review any available data architecture and program documentation to identify initial questions and build context before the discovery session. Reviewing materials ahead of the meeting also ensures efficient use of participant time.

• Prepare Your Questions: Creating a set of discovery questions helps ensure you obtain the information you need on the data set. Be prepared for additional topics and questions to arise organically during the discovery session.

• Capture the Information: Ideally, have one person ask the discovery questions while another captures meeting notes. Often this is impossible. If acceptable to the participants, record the meeting for later review.

• Confirm Your Understanding: Communicate your understanding to participants for confirmation and clarity.

When scheduling discovery sessions, include context for the effort and the objectives for the discovery session. To establish a common understanding, the session should start with a definition of data-sharing; examples of data-sharing help provide additional context. The Supplemental: Benefits page provides some short videos that review impactful data-sharing efforts.

The article Discovery Sessions from UX Everything provides useful tips for preparing and conducting discovery sessions.