​The first of the four CWDS Digital Service development stages used to report point-in-time status of each Digital Service (e.g., Intake). The objective of this stage is to conduct User research and explore stakeholder needs (e.g., specific client or policy requirements). The outputs of this stage include, but are not limited to, the following: prioritized list of epics and User Stories, Alpha phase goals, and an initial set of User Personas.