Staging environment
Dheeraj Saxena
Free Lesson

Why Most Data Platform Failures Happen Before Build Starts

45 min
Jul 1, 2026 12:30 PM

What you'll learn

Why skipping Discovery and jumping to HLD breaks programmes

Understand the real cost of skipping Discovery — in rework, delays, and lost stakeholder confidence.

How to identify show-stoppers before the budget is committed

Learn techniques to identify red flags, validate requirements, and develop estimates during high-level discovery.

Learn how architecture principles save programmes

Real case study: how wrong Discovery questions set programmes up to fail — how architecture principles prevent this.

Why this topic matters

Committing $500k+ to a data platform without doing a proper Discovery is how large data initiatives fail. A 2-3 week, $30-40k Discovery can surface show-stoppers before they become expensive — saving hundreds of thousands in rework and sunk spend. This session gives Lead Architects a proven method for conducting Discovery right — illustrated through a real UK retail case study.

You'll learn from

Dheeraj Saxena

Dheeraj Saxena

Chief Data Officer, and Enterprise Architect at Datawhistl.com

IBM, Homebase, Kraft Foods, Unilever

Tata Consultancy Services
Wipro
Serco Group
Essity
NHS
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