Our Development Process

Five steps we use on every software, AI and e-commerce project, with what happens in each one, what we need from you, and what you have in hand when it ends.

How long it takes

Simple projects can be completed in 4-6 weeks, while enterprise solutions may take 3-6 months. The steps are the same either way; what changes is how long each one runs. A small automation may move through discovery and design in a few days, while a system with several integrations, user roles and a data migration needs more time in each phase.

Every step ends with something you can review and a decision that is yours to make. You are never asked to commit to the whole project on the strength of a first conversation.

Discovery & Strategy

Every engagement starts by understanding the business problem before choosing technology. For advisory-only work this phase is the whole engagement; see technology consulting.

What happens

Working sessions with the people who own the problem and the people who will use the result.
A review of the systems, data and integrations already in place, including anything that has to keep running during the project.
Agreement on what success looks like in measurable terms, and what is explicitly out of scope.

What you provide

A decision-maker who can answer scope questions quickly.
Access to relevant documentation, existing code or sample data where it exists.
Any constraints we must respect: budget range, launch date, compliance or hosting requirements.

What you receive

A written scope with prioritized features and known risks.
A recommended engagement model and a timeline estimate.
A cost estimate you can take to budget approval.

Your decision point

Whether to proceed, and on which terms: fixed price for a well-defined scope, time-and-materials when requirements are still moving, or a dedicated team. The trade-offs are explained on our engagement models page.

Design & Architecture

We decide how the system will be built before writing production code, so the expensive choices are made once and on paper. For cloud and security-heavy work this includes the hosting and access model; see cloud solutions and enterprise security.

What happens

User flows and screen designs for the parts people will touch every day.
System architecture: components, data model, integrations and where each piece is hosted.
Security and access design: roles, permissions, how sensitive data is stored and who can see it.

What you provide

Feedback on designs from real users, not only managers.
Credentials or sandbox access for systems we need to integrate with.
Brand assets and content owners for anything customer-facing.

What you receive

Approved designs for the first release.
An architecture document describing components, integrations and hosting.
A delivery plan broken into milestones you can track.

Your decision point

Sign-off on the designs and architecture. Changes are cheapest here; after this point, new requirements go through a written change request with their cost and timeline impact spelled out.

Development & Integration

We build in short iterations and show working software regularly rather than disappearing until launch. This is the core of our custom software, AI automation and AI development work.

What happens

Features are built in priority order and demonstrated at the end of each iteration.
Integrations with your existing systems are built against sandbox environments first.
Code is reviewed, kept in version control, and deployed to a staging environment you can use.

What you provide

Attendance at iteration demos and timely feedback.
Answers to open questions, usually within a few working days, so work is not blocked.
Test data and, where needed, access to production-like environments.

What you receive

Working software on staging after every iteration.
Regular progress updates against the delivery plan.
Access to the code repository throughout the project.

Your decision point

At each demo you can reprioritize what comes next. If something turns out to matter less than expected, it can be dropped or swapped for something of similar size without restarting the plan.

Quality & Deployment

Before anything goes live, we test it the way it will actually be used and plan the release so it can be rolled back if needed.

What happens

Functional testing of every agreed feature, plus regression testing of what already worked.
Security, performance and accessibility checks appropriate to the system and its users.
User acceptance testing by your team, followed by a documented production deployment.

What you provide

People to run user acceptance testing and sign off on results.
Production accounts, domains and any approvals your organization requires before go-live.
A launch date that works for your users and support staff.

What you receive

The system running in production.
Deployment and operating documentation, plus admin training where it is part of scope.
Handover of credentials, source code and infrastructure to accounts you own.

Your decision point

Go-live approval. If acceptance testing turns up issues, you decide whether they block launch or go into the first post-launch update.

Support & Evolution

Launch is the start of real usage, not the end of the project. Larger programs often continue as digital transformation work, one system at a time.

What happens

A post-launch period to fix defects found under real use.
Ongoing maintenance: security patches, dependency upgrades and monitoring.
Planned improvements based on how people actually use the system.

What you provide

A way for users to report problems, and someone to prioritize them.
Feedback and usage data that shows where the next improvement should go.

What you receive

Fixes and updates under the support terms agreed in your contract.
Recommendations for the next release, with estimates.

Your decision point

Whether to continue with a support arrangement, move to a new phase of development, or take the system fully in-house. Support terms, including response times and covered hours, are agreed per engagement.

Where this process applies

The same five steps run through every service we offer, from custom software development and workflow automation to e-commerce builds, where fixed-scope packages compress discovery and design into a short, pre-defined phase. You can see the result of this process in our published case studies, or browse every offering on the services overview.

Start With a Discovery Conversation

Tell us what you are trying to build and by when. We reply within 24 hours and can walk through how each step would work for your project. You can also send us a message first.

Schedule a Consultation