Let’s go deep.

At Dojo4 we strive to understand problems before proposing solutions.

We don’t always end up building what the client comes in the door asking for. When someone comes to us with a solution, we take a step back in order to first understand deeply the problem they are trying to solve. We ask why they arrived at a particular solution and—drawing on our decades of technological problem solving—dig into what other solutions might exist to compare and evaluate.

Often, after an initial conversation, clients engage Dojo4 for a half or full-day deep dive, or if you prefer: product articulation. With our designers and developers present along with your key decision-makers, we work to understand the problem behind the proposed technical solution(s), as well as the brand identity and ethos of your project or product.

These meetings are done round-table style—in person if at all possible—with lots of whiteboards, lots of drawing, and lots of delicious locally-catered food.

You will have in-hand:

A report articulating the findings from the deep dive and outlining suggestions for your technological next steps.

Whether or not you then work with Dojo4 to implement those strategies, the report serves as a conversion for your team from “business language” or project descriptions into technical and design language that can be used as an RFP or for you to compare services and prices with other agencies.

Importantly, this report will identify potential pivots before development begins. Without this kind of bird’s eye view, seemingly trivial technical decisions made early on can make the difference between a $10k project and a $100k one.

In addition, graded approaches to your ultimate goals can be identified. Very often, a client starts out with the ultimate deliverable in mind, but not a step-by-step guide to interim milestones. These steps often follow the 80/20 rule: you might be able to spend 20% as much, take 20% as long, and realize 80% of the value when compared to your initial proposed solution. That’s valuable information to have from the outset.

Most importantly, you will be able to re-state and refine the problem you are trying to solve, after learning more deeply about the technical and/or design considerations that our experts consider important to the problem space. Interestingly, over dozens and dozens of deep dives throughout the years, we have found that client nearly always come out of a deep dive having changed their minds about which problem they are actually solving, and which solution(s) they actually want to initiate.

You will invest:

The cost of a Deep Dive is generally $3,200 - $6,400, depending on the number of stakeholders, technicians, and designers needed for the process. You'll come away with a document that you can use to help direct development with anyone, but if you end up choosing to develop your project with us, we'll take 50% of the cost of the Deep Dive out of your first invoice.