Discover · Core
Decide whether to carry on: the discovery decision
Discovery ends with a decision: carry on, change direction or stop. Making this call openly, with evidence, saves money and builds trust, even when the answer is no.
About 1-2 daysEvergreenLast reviewed 5 November 2026
Who this applies to
- Skills it builds
- Discovery and researchPrioritisation and roadmapping
- PM types
- All
- Product types
- All
- Starting points
- All
- Ways of working
- All
- Experience
- All
- Size of organisation
- All
Steps, by experience
Beginner (under 1 year)
- Go back to your learning questions and write what you now know for each one.
- Check the four risks again: what evidence do you have on value, usability, feasibility and viability?
- Write a short recommendation: carry on, change direction or stop, and the main reasons.
- If you recommend carrying on, describe the problem to solve next and roughly what it will take.
- If you recommend stopping, say what you learned and what it saved. This is a good outcome.
- Present it to your sponsor and record the decision and the reasons.
Intermediate (1 to 4 years)
- Summarise answers to each learning question and the remaining risks.
- Recommend continue, pivot or stop, with evidence.
- Outline scope, team and cost for the next phase if continuing.
- Get a recorded decision from the sponsor.
Experienced (5+ years)
- Write a short decision memo that leads with the recommendation and the strongest evidence for and against.
- Compare this opportunity with the others competing for the same team.
- Check your own bias: what would have to be true for stopping to be the right call?
- Agree the decision in a review with the key decision-makers and publish it.
Who can do this
Owner: Product manager
Can be delegated to
- User Researcher: Summarise what research showed for each learning question
- Tech Lead or Architect: Give a view on feasibility and rough effort for the next phase
- Delivery Manager: Estimate the team and time needed if the work continues
Reviewed by: Tech Lead, UX Designer, Policy / Legal / Compliance
Tool examples
- Confluence
- Write the decision on a page linked from the opportunity frame, so the full story is in one place.
- Google Docs
- Share a two-page memo before the meeting and ask people to comment in advance.
- Claude
- Paste your evidence summary and ask it to argue the opposite recommendation, so you can test how strong your case is.
Definition of done
- Each learning question answered or marked as still open
- Recommendation written with evidence for and against
- Decision made and recorded with reasons
Common pitfalls
- Carrying on by default because the team has already invested time
- Presenting only the evidence that supports carrying on
- Not recording why the decision was made
If you lead the team
What good looks like: Discovery ends with an open decision to carry on, change direction or stop, backed by evidence.
Ask your PM
- What did we learn, and what are we recommending?
- What would make us stop this work?
Warning signs
- Nothing is ever stopped after discovery.
- The decision is made before the evidence is in.