Why English? | Writing a Discovery Brief Through Problem, Users, Evidence, Assumptions, Constraints, Research Questions, Opportunities and Decision Gates

ORIENTATION

What this guide covers

Current fact check

Checked on 8 November 2026, the GOV.UK Service Manual said discovery should define the problem, understand users and context, examine constraints and policy intent, identify opportunities and consider success measures before deciding whether to move to alpha. It explicitly warned against starting to build the service during discovery.

What this guide does not cover

This article owns a discovery brief for the pre-solution learning phase. It does not own a project brief, user-research interview guide, user story, product requirements document, business case, alpha plan, procurement specification or final project authorisation.

Worked example

Every chapter returns to a fictional polytechnic team investigating why students cannot reliably borrow specialist equipment for evening project work, without assuming that a new app is the answer. It is fictional, low-stakes and educational; it does not report a real school, clinical decision or guaranteed outcome.

Warm up with eduKate’s guides to explaining scientific evidence and asking better questions in class.

CHAPTER 1 OF 16

1. Start With the Decision the Discovery Must Support

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Why this move matters

Name the sponsor, decision window and choice that learning must inform.

Keep discovery before delivery

Name the sponsor, decision window and choice that learning must inform. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The sponsor must decide whether to invest in an alpha, change an existing process or stop. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

A discovery brief cannot grant authority that belongs to a sponsor or board. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Start With the Decision the Discovery Must Support”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 2 OF 16

2. Reframe the Requested Solution as a Problem

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Why this move matters

Translate “build an app” into a user outcome, difficulty and context that can admit several responses.

Keep discovery before delivery

Translate “build an app” into a user outcome, difficulty and context that can admit several responses. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Students struggle to locate, reserve and collect suitable equipment for evening work; an app is only one hypothesis. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Reframing should not erase statutory or operational requirements. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Reframe the Requested Solution as a Problem”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 3 OF 16

3. Identify Users, Affected People and Service Roles

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Why this move matters

Name primary users, staff, intermediaries, people at risk of exclusion and those who operate the wider service.

Keep discovery before delivery

Name primary users, staff, intermediaries, people at risk of exclusion and those who operate the wider service. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Borrowers, technicians, course staff, security teams and students using assistive technology experience different parts of the problem. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Stakeholder categories are starting hypotheses, not stereotypes. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Identify Users, Affected People and Service Roles”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 4 OF 16

4. Summarise Existing Evidence and Its Limits

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Why this move matters

List support records, service data, research, policy, complaints and prior work with dates and caveats.

Keep discovery before delivery

List support records, service data, research, policy, complaints and prior work with dates and caveats. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Loan logs show unmet evening requests, while informal comments suggest several possible causes. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

A complaint pattern or small sample should not be treated as population proof. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Summarise Existing Evidence and Its Limits”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 5 OF 16

5. Write Assumptions as Testable Statements

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Why this move matters

Convert beliefs about users, causes, feasibility and value into statements that evidence could confirm, revise or reject.

Keep discovery before delivery

Convert beliefs about users, causes, feasibility and value into statements that evidence could confirm, revise or reject. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The team writes “students know which equipment they need” as an assumption to test, not a fact. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Some assumptions concern values or policy and require authorised judgement as well as research. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Write Assumptions as Testable Statements”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 6 OF 16

6. Set Learning Objectives and Research Questions

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Why this move matters

Prioritise what must be learned to make the gate decision and connect each question to a method.

Keep discovery before delivery

Prioritise what must be learned to make the gate decision and connect each question to a method. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The team asks when demand arises, where the journey fails and which constraints cause abandonment. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Research questions should not quietly evaluate only the preferred solution. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Set Learning Objectives and Research Questions”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 7 OF 16

7. Choose Proportionate Methods and Evidence Sources

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Why this move matters

Select interviews, observation, data analysis, journey mapping, technical spikes or desk research suited to each unknown.

Keep discovery before delivery

Select interviews, observation, data analysis, journey mapping, technical spikes or desk research suited to each unknown. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Loan-desk observation complements system logs because each reveals a different part of the service. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Methods have access, bias and privacy limits that should be recorded. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Choose Proportionate Methods and Evidence Sources”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 8 OF 16

8. Plan Inclusive Participation and Safeguards

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Why this move matters

Address recruitment, accessibility, language, consent, privacy, power and burden before contacting participants.

Keep discovery before delivery

Address recruitment, accessibility, language, consent, privacy, power and burden before contacting participants. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Sessions offer accessible formats and do not require students to disclose grades or disability details unnecessarily. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Inclusion does not mean asking every person every question. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Plan Inclusive Participation and Safeguards”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 9 OF 16

9. Map the Wider User Journey and Service System

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Why this move matters

Show triggers, stages, handoffs, channels, organisations, backstage work and related services.

Keep discovery before delivery

Show triggers, stages, handoffs, channels, organisations, backstage work and related services. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The journey includes course planning, equipment selection, booking, collection, support, return and incident handling. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

A map is a model that can omit invisible labour. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Map the Wider User Journey and Service System”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 10 OF 16

10. Record Constraints Without Treating Them as Eternal

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Why this move matters

Name legal, policy, technology, staffing, budget, space, timetable and procurement limits with sources and owners.

Keep discovery before delivery

Name legal, policy, technology, staffing, budget, space, timetable and procurement limits with sources and owners. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Security access limits late collection today, while locker placement remains a changeable design constraint. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

A claimed constraint may be a habit, interpretation or outdated rule. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Record Constraints Without Treating Them as Eternal”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 11 OF 16

11. Identify Opportunities Across More Than One Response

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Why this move matters

Describe evidence-led possibilities in content, process, staffing, partnership, data and technology.

Keep discovery before delivery

Describe evidence-led possibilities in content, process, staffing, partnership, data and technology. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Options include clearer equipment guidance, revised collection hours, reservation changes and secure lockers. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

An opportunity is not yet a committed solution or business case. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Identify Opportunities Across More Than One Response”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 12 OF 16

12. Define Success Measures and Unintended Effects

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Why this move matters

State how a later intervention might be judged and which harms or displacement effects to monitor.

Keep discovery before delivery

State how a later intervention might be judged and which harms or displacement effects to monitor. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, Measures include successful collection, task completion, staff load, accessibility and equipment loss. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

A metric can improve while the real user outcome worsens. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Define Success Measures and Unintended Effects”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 13 OF 16

13. Synthesize Findings Into a Coherent Problem Model

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Why this move matters

Connect evidence, context, causes, needs, constraints and uncertainty instead of producing a list of quotes.

Keep discovery before delivery

Connect evidence, context, causes, needs, constraints and uncertainty instead of producing a list of quotes. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The synthesis shows that uncertainty about suitability and limited collection windows interact, while demand volume remains unclear. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Synthesis includes interpretation and should preserve contrary evidence. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Synthesize Findings Into a Coherent Problem Model”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 14 OF 16

14. Compare Next-Step Options at the Decision Gate

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Why this move matters

Present stop, continue learning, alpha, policy change, content improvement or partnership routes on shared criteria.

Keep discovery before delivery

Present stop, continue learning, alpha, policy change, content improvement or partnership routes on shared criteria. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, A small alpha tests lockers and guidance; a separate option changes support hours without new technology. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

The same evidence may support different value judgements. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Compare Next-Step Options at the Decision Gate”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 15 OF 16

15. Write the Recommendation With Conditions and Unknowns

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Why this move matters

State the preferred next move, evidence, limits, dependencies and what would trigger reconsideration.

Keep discovery before delivery

State the preferred next move, evidence, limits, dependencies and what would trigger reconsideration. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The team recommends a bounded alpha only after confirming security feasibility and representative demand. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

A recommendation does not guarantee sponsor approval. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Write the Recommendation With Conditions and Unknowns”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

CHAPTER 16 OF 16

16. Preserve Learning, Sources and Unanswered Questions

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Why this move matters

Store evidence references, decisions, research materials, ownership and remaining unknowns for the next team.

Keep discovery before delivery

Store evidence references, decisions, research materials, ownership and remaining unknowns for the next team. Write the problem, evidence and unknowns before listing features. A discovery brief is strongest when it protects the team from premature certainty.

Follow the worked discovery

For the fictional service, The handover keeps source dates, consent boundaries and the questions an alpha must answer. Connect each observation to a research question, owner and decision date so learning can change the next move.

Invite more than one plausible answer

Record constraints and opportunities without turning them into a preferred product. Compare content, process, service, partnership and technology responses where the evidence allows.

Finish with a decision, not a sales pitch

Records must follow current privacy, retention and access rules. Summarise whether to stop, continue discovery, test an alpha or pursue another route, and preserve the reasons behind that recommendation.

Student, parent and career transfer

Make one evidence card for “Preserve Learning, Sources and Unanswered Questions”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports service design, product work, policy delivery, user research, business analysis, entrepreneurship, school innovation projects and early project planning without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.

PRACTICE LAB

Build a discovery brief decision trail

Student route

1. Choose one original report inside this guide’s scope.
2. Copy its objective and underline actor, action, context, evidence and intended decision.
3. Draw the specific reasoning chain used in this article.
4. Mark each step reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
5. Rewrite the conclusion so it preserves the narrowest important limitation.

Parent or teacher route

Ask the learner to explain turn an exciting solution request into a careful discovery of the real problem, user context and responsible next decision twice: once to a classmate and once to a method specialist. Praise a precise correction and a well-stated unknown; both show disciplined attention to evidence.

Early-career route

Create a one-page discovery brief audit with source link, date checked, scope, method logic, decisive wording, contrary evidence, limit and next action. A colleague should be able to continue without guessing.

Continue with eduKate’s guides to reading course and career information and giving useful feedback in group projects.

USEFUL NEXT READING

Connect this narrow owner to its neighbour

Read the user-story guide for a related but different reader job. Return here when the question is specifically how to turn an exciting solution request into a careful discovery of the real problem, user context and responsible next decision. Use each guide for the reader task named in its heading.

For English practice across research, school and career communication, visit the Singapore English Tuition Centre learning site.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions students and parents often ask

Is a discovery brief the same as a project brief?

No. A discovery brief frames learning before solution commitment; a project brief normally frames authorised work and deliverables.

Must discovery lead to an alpha?

No. Evidence may support more research, a non-digital change, partnership, policy work or stopping.

How long should discovery take?

Let the decision and uncertainty control. GOV.UK says around four to eight weeks is typical, not mandatory.

Can we prototype during discovery?

Use only proportionate learning artefacts consistent with the governing method; do not quietly start building the service.

Does user research replace service data?

No. Combine suitable evidence and state the limits of each source.

Who approves the next step?

The authorised sponsor or governance body, following the organisation’s current process.