In just about every software project, at some point, something unexpected will happen. Perhaps your test users will want a feature you didn't plan for, you'll discover that your design needs some on-the-fly changes or you'll need to pivot during development due to a changing competitive and/or technical landscape.

For this reason we prefer an agile methodology whenever possible and generally work on an hourly basis, rather than a fixed price basis. We believe this arrangement leads to a more productive workflow and a better software product. We offer discount "building block" packages, allowing you to purchase a block of hours that makes sense for your project budget and development needs.

In general we recommend avoiding fixed-price agreements. In our experience, fixed price projects offer businesses a false sense of security. These agreements will almost always allow for "change orders" which are meant to account for any revisions needed that are outside of the deliverables negotiated in the original agreement.

This is problematic for modern software projects containing any degree of complexity. Your needs as a business owner or manager, and the direction of your project will almost certainly require adjustment as development proceeds, but with a fixed price project, a development team's interest will be geared towards delivering what is in the original proposal - and not on pivoting to focus on how to create the best possible product.

What can easily happen is that as a project evolves, a conflict arises between the original deliverables versus the evolving needs of the software. This can create tension and confusion, as management has to negotiate with the development team about what falls under a change order, how long it should take, and how much it should cost. The result is that the security the business thinks they had with a fixed price agreement turns out to be meaningless, and the resulting work process can be ponderous, heavy-footed, and frustrating, rather than nimble and flexible.

Agile processes encourage teamwork, flexibility, and constant evaluation. This equals a better workflow and a better end result.

Our development cycles are roughly two weeks long and we conduct project reviews at the tail end of every cycle in order to evaluate the current version of the software. This allows the team to quickly adapt, and add or revise features or elements as the need arises.

This is in stark contrast to a "waterfall" approach, where all elements of an entire project go into one giant list, and the development team delivers everything at once. This approach is thankfully being left behind as businesses and developers realize that a more flexible process is needed.

Realistic estimates

It's been said many times, but building software is not like building a house. House building proceeds according to time-tested, well-understood needs. Software development uses recent technology to create a program which users interact with— users whose needs are not always well understood and whose behavior may be hard to predict.

There will almost certainly be some unknowns that a developer will come across during the development process, but rather than commit to an expensive agreement where these unknowns may not surface for a while, we offer flexible options, one of which is to simply start with just a few weeks of development. The result is that you'll get a much more accurate picture of the project's challenges (including a ballpark time and cost estimate) without a big commitment.

Contrast that with the painstaking process of negotating everything up front. A list of features has to go back and forth for review and clarification and pricing and payment dates and change orders have to be agreed upon and various contigencies need to be spelled out. This wastes so much time, which would be better spent on just starting the project.

We write clean, clear, maintaneable code, we're 100% transparent about our work, and our package rates are significantly lower than our competitors. So drop us a line, and let's get your project started!