How to design a custom IT system?

Large software projects require trust and commitment on both sides. However, it is difficult to avoid a certain distance and reserve in the beginning. It’s particularly tricky in the case of projects that are strategically important for the company and its budget. It is perfectly understandable; after all, the future of the company and the people who work for it depends on their success.

Decision-makers play a considerable role in the process. Every choice should be taken with the most extensive knowledge about business needs, risks, and the market situation. So to break the ice and gradually build mutual understanding, we always suggest starting with something small.

The basis of such a project is the analysis of the client’s business. We need to get to know in detail how the company functions from the inside, what processes take place in it, the connections between departments, and what role the system will play in all of this. To find out, we spend several days at the client’s company and observe how people work in various departments.

We use several unconventional methods, which have their basis in the so-called Design Thinking. We try to look at problems from different perspectives, create simple prototypes and mockups, and test solutions on paper first.

With the gathered knowledge, we are able to do a project that is detailed enough to:

Implementing such a project takes up to two weeks and usually takes a fraction of the final project’s budget. However, it is detailed enough to allow us to build the first version of the system. Furthermore, it’s good to point out that the project prepared in such a way is entirely the client’s property, so it can be consulted with other software houses.

This strategy is based primarily on respect for our clients’ money. One of our key goals is to create custom systems that make sense for the client and truly help their business. Technology always comes at a price, but we ensure that its cost is ultimately returned in savings and new income. To some extent, we can take care of that aspect thanks to our experience and technological knowledge, but eventually, we also need to get to know the client’s business from the inside.

In-depth knowledge of the company’s processes and relations between them often allows identifying the most easily solved problems. Most usually, solving them comes at low cost and effort and brings enormous profits. Fixing and improving such elements is often a great start that brings quick results, strengthens the relationship, and signals that the changes make sense.

This method is particularly important in the case of large systems that require several months of operation. In such cases, a much better solution is to build software in small steps, gradually posing the effects of subsequent implementations and taking user feedback into account. And although from the client’s perspective, getting to know the price of the entire project right from the start (the so-called fixed price) is a compelling vision, such a solution is often impossible or simply unjustified for business. The Time & Material (T&M) model works much better, as it allows changing priorities and reacting to market conditions dynamically without the need to modify the contract.

The philosophy by which we work puts the client’s challenges in the first place, but ultimately everyone benefits from it. In the case of one of our clients, MyBenefit, we started cooperation when the team was a small startup. A few months after their system was created, the company was bought by Benefit Systems, and the team grew from X to X people. As technology partners, we are at every stage of the company’s development, we evolve with it, and we are a part of its success.

Our other client, Pitax.pl, had a similar story. We describe it here.

As a software house, we advise and suggest technological solutions and their implementation strategy. Ultimately, however, the client’s perspective and decision are essential. Nobody knows the business as profoundly as the customer, and the best decisions ultimately result from the cooperation of both parties. Therefore, we want to build relationships from the first contact. Here’s why exactly:

And it is precisely such relations that we care about.