What Discovery covers
Discovery looks at four areas of your data environment — enough to produce a real findings document, without drifting into a full audit.
Data Input
- Contact/plaintiff-to-firm intake: sources, formats, and capture points
- Defined and undefined constraints on intake data
- General understanding of input variability
Data Output
- Inventory of systems where firm data resides
- Where data is used — reports, interfaces, decision tools
- Identification (not full enumeration) of third-party interfaces
Process — Data Flow Diagram
- A context-level (Level-0) Data Flow Diagram
- How data is manipulated and verified, at a summary level
- Manual vs. automated handling, at a summary level
Key-Field Inventory
- Structural key fields used to link records across systems
- Source system, format, and observed constraints per key
- Not a catalog of every data element in the environment
What you receive
A written Discovery Findings Report — built to be read and reused, not filed away.
- —Data inventorySummarizing input sources, output destinations, and systems of record.
- —Level-0 Data Flow DiagramA context-level map of your firm's data environment.
- —Key-field inventoryStructural keys used to link records across systems.
- —Observed ConstraintsA standalone narrative on patterns, inconsistencies, and gaps encountered — the section most firms come back to.
- —Risk / readiness assessmentInformed directly by the observed constraints above.
- —Scope recommendationFor any follow-on Scoped Project, if one is warranted.
On Observed Constraints
These reflect patterns MDG observed in the data and materials provided, and context offered by firm staff during Discovery. They are not a verification or audit of underlying application logic or source code, and shouldn't be relied upon as such.
What's out of scope
Discovery is deliberately bounded. The following are handled as separate, independently scoped engagements — never folded in without a conversation first.
Not included in Discovery: a full data-element catalog beyond structural keys · in-depth analysis of any single third-party interface · tracing how keys transform or break across systems · assessment of existing multi-party data-sharing arrangements · design of any new interface or process.
How it's billed
Hourly, against a cap you agree to up front. You are never billed past it without your written approval.
| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly Rate | Per hour, all Discovery work | $350 / hour |
| Not-to-Exceed Cap | Set per engagement, by firm size/scope | Confirmed at kickoff |
| Billing | Actual hours incurred only | Monthly or at completion |
What happens if we approach the cap
- We stop and notify you.Work pauses before the cap is exceeded — not after.
- You choose how to proceed.Authorize additional hours, or accept the findings completed to that point.
- Nothing beyond the cap is billedwithout your written authorization. No exceptions.