Every successful Salesforce project starts with understanding: not just what the client wants, but how their system works, identifying areas for improvement and determining the most effective solutions. That’s why we created our Discovery Assessment Template. It is a clear and organized way to guide discovery phases for both short-term projects and long-term support engagements.  

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Why We Need a Discovery Assessment Template

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Discovery is one of the most important stages in any Salesforce engagement, but it can also be the most stressful. Different clients, different systems, different goals, and no consistent framework to document what we find.

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We noticed several recurring issues:

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• Discovery sessions lacked consistency across project managers.

• Some important information about the system was sometimes overlooked.  

• Recommendations were in different places - notes, emails, or call summaries.

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Discovery is too important to leave unstructured. Our project managers wanted a simple and useful framework that fits their way of working, instead of making things more complicated. So, we decided to build it.  

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Designing the Template

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Creating the Discovery Assessment Template was a truly collaborative effort. Our project managers worked together to create something that combined their technical knowledge and hands-on experience working with clients.

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We built the Discovery Assessment Template based on these simple ideas:

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• Easy to Understand: Information should be clear and simple for everyone, whether they are familiar with technical details or not.

• Complete: All important details, like how the system is set up and how users behave, should be included.

• Useful for Action: The results should help guide the next steps, leading to planning or implementation.

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To make sure the Discovery Assessment Template is easy to use and helpful, we built it around key sections. Each section has a clear role, helping us gather important information and turn it into useful ideas and plans:

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• Summary
  A simple introduction at the very start to help the reader understand the main points: why the client contacted us, what goals they have, and whether they are interested in a specific project or ongoing help.

• System Overview
  A snapshot of the client’s Salesforce environment: the products they're using, the types and number of licenses, how many people have access, any external tools connected, and any custom features or integrations.

• Identified Issues & Challenges
  A section outlining areas of concern, integration gaps, security concerns, data problems, or low user adoption.

• Recommendations
  Practical suggestions that directly address the problems found, including fixing the system, ways to automate tasks, improving how data is organized, and training requirements.

• Roadmap
  Two distinct paths based on the type of engagement:
  
  - For Projects: A clear action plan for fixing or building things in phases. 
  - For Complete Support: A plan for ongoing improvements and checks. 
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• Next Steps
  A final section to help move the engagement forward. A summary that brings together everything we've learned so far, along with the main suggestions we've made to help the client move ahead with a clear plan.

• Optional Add-ons
  Additional helpful files for a closer look if needed: permission matrices, screenshots, user feedback, ERD diagrams, and data quality reports.

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Outcomes and Benefits

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Since implementing the Discovery Assessment Template, we’ve noticed a few big changes:

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• Clients feel more confident because they can clearly see what’s working, what’s not, and what comes next.

• Project scoping is faster and more accurate.

• This template gives our team a strong starting point, enables faster onboarding of ideas and solutions, while still leaving room for creativity and customization.

• Risk is reduced, especially around missed dependencies and access control issues.

• Recommendations have a greater impact because they’re clearly organized and based on well-structured insights.
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It has also made it easier for new team members to get started. They now have a straightforward guide to understand how we think, evaluate, and plan in the earliest stages of a client relationship.

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Whether you're exploring a new Salesforce project or looking for ongoing support to optimize your current environment, our Discovery Assessment Template ensures that every step is built on clear understanding and structured insight. If you're interested in a focused project engagement or need complete, ongoing Salesforce support, we’re ready to help.

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