How a project actually runs
There is no discovery phase you pay for before knowing whether we are a fit, and no sales presentation. Here is the whole thing, including what we need from you at each point.
- Week 0
First conversation
Thirty to forty five minutes. You describe what you want built or what is going wrong. We ask what exists today, who depends on it, and what the deadline really is. By the end you know whether we are the right people. Sometimes we are not, and we say so on that call.
You:Half an hour and honest answers. No documents and nothing to prepare.
- Week 0 to 1
A written plan and a price
What we will build, what we will not, how we will work together, how long it will take, what it costs, and the risks we can already see. If we cannot price something responsibly without looking at it first, we tell you that instead of guessing.
You:A read and your questions. Push back here. It is far cheaper than pushing back in week six.
- Week 1
Understanding the detail
The short, focused version: who uses it, what it has to connect to, what information it holds, and what already exists. For existing software this is the check instead, which means reading it and giving you a written report.
You:Access to whatever exists, and some time with whoever knows the business best.
- Week 1 to 2
Agreeing the shape
How the parts fit together, and the decisions that would be expensive to change later. Those get written down with the reasoning, so nobody has to guess in a year's time. You approve the shape before the main build starts.
You:One review session and a decision.
- Ongoing
Building, one week at a time
A working version on a private link every week, and a short written update covering what is done, what is next, and anything that changed. Changes arrive in small pieces that are easy to check. No status theatre and no fortnight of silence.
You:About an hour a week, and answers when a decision is genuinely yours.
- Before launch
Making it solid
Speed checks, accessibility checks, backups restored in front of you, alerts switched on and tested, and a way to undo a bad change that you have watched being used. This is part of the work, not a step that gets cut when the date gets close.
You:Your accounts for hosting and anything else the project needs, so everything is in your name from the start.
- After launch
Hand over, or keep going
Written instructions and a walkthrough with whoever takes it on. Then either your team runs it, or we look after it for a monthly fee. Both are genuinely fine, and we will tell you which one we think suits your situation.
You:A decision, and fifteen minutes a month to read the report if we continue.
Three ways to work with us
We do not publish prices, because a number without a clear scope is meaningless to both of us. What we can be clear about is the shape of the arrangement. Every written plan names one of these three.
Fixed price project
A defined result, a fixed price and a delivery date, all agreed before work starts. If you want something added later, it is priced separately rather than absorbed quietly or argued about at the end.
Best for
A well understood piece of work: a website, an app, a check of existing software.
- A price that does not move unless the work does
- A written scope that says what is excluded, not only what is included
- Something working to look at every week
- A full handover at the end
Monthly support
A set amount of our time each month for looking after your software, making small changes and improving things gradually. It rolls on monthly, can be stopped with thirty days' notice, and always ends with a handover document.
Best for
Software that is live and needs to stay safe, up to date and working.
- A named person who knows your software, rather than a ticket queue
- Security updates and tested backups on a schedule
- Someone watching for faults, so you are not the one who finds them
- A short written report each month you can forward to anyone
Dedicated team
One or more people working only on your product for an agreed period, planning with you week by week. In practice it is your software team, without the hiring.
Best for
Ongoing product work where the plan will change as you learn from customers.
- The same people throughout, building real knowledge of your business
- Weekly planning and a shared list of work that you control
- Direct contact with the people doing the work
- The ability to change direction without renegotiating a contract
What happens to your information
This is the question everyone has and most people are too polite to ask, so here is the answer in public.
A confidentiality agreement first
Signed before you give us access to anything. It covers your software, your business information, and anything else we happen to see along the way.
The least access that works
Checking your software means reading it, so that is all we ask for. The ability to change things exists only where the work requires it, and only after you have agreed.
Passwords kept in a locked manager
Anything you send us goes into a password manager, never into email, chat or a shared document. We ask you to remove our access when the work ends.
Nobody outside our team
Only the people working on your project can see it. We do not pass your work to another company or an outsourced team.
Your accounts, from day one
Hosting, your web address, app store listings and every other service are set up in your name, not ours. Nothing about leaving is made difficult on purpose.
What we find stays private
We do not discuss what we found in your software with anyone. If something ever appears in a public write up, your name is removed and you approve it first. If you say no, it does not go up.
What people ask about working together
You do, once it is paid for, including everything produced along the way. It lives in your accounts from the first day, not ours. Hosting, your web address, app store listings and any other service are all set up in your name. Nothing about leaving us is made difficult on purpose.
Three ways. A fixed price project for a clearly defined piece of work. A monthly arrangement for software that is live and needs looking after. Or a dedicated team, where people work only on your product for an agreed period. Every written plan names one of the three, so there is never any confusion about what you are buying.
A website or a focused web application is usually six to twelve weeks. A first release of an online product is three to six months. A mobile app is two to four months to the first store release. Checking existing software takes three to five days. Those are honest starting ranges. You get a real date in the written plan once we understand the job, and we would rather quote longer and be right.
Yes, and it usually goes well. We work in small pieces specifically so that someone else can check them. We agree how we will work together at the start, and we are happy for your team to own parts of the work while we own others, as long as the line between them is written down.
Anything you send us goes into a locked password manager, never into email, chat or a shared document. We ask for the least access that lets us do the job, and we ask you to remove it when we are finished. If we find your passwords sitting somewhere unsafe inside your own software, changing them is the first thing in the report.
No. What we find is confidential and covered by the agreement we sign before we get access to anything. If something ever appears in a public write up, your name is removed and you see it and approve it before it goes anywhere. If you say no, it does not go up.
Start at week zero
Thirty minutes, nothing to prepare. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right people.