Brocoders

We start with Solution Design: a 10-days series of workshops that ends in user stories with acceptance criteria, a tested prototype, non-functional requirements, module-level estimates and a roadmap. A traceability matrix links every requirement to its user story, so nothing is lost before the build. The client owns every artifact and can take it to any vendor. On an existing system, a fixed-price software audit (from $5,000, 5 business days) comes first, so requirements start from what the code really does.

We start from the business outcome, not the feature list. The audit or Solution Design phase asks what the software must change for the business and ends in a plan the client can judge on its own: keep, fix or rebuild, with costs. The audit is allowed to say do not rebuild. For HeyPractice, it recommended a rewrite that kept the existing database structure. Pods work against named delivery KPIs agreed with the client, and each phase is approved before the next one starts.

Agile, mostly Scrum with two-week sprints, for product builds and modernization. Kanban for retainer and maintenance work, where requests arrive continuously. Before either, a fixed-scope discovery phase: a software audit for existing systems or Solution Design for new products. Larger projects run in fixed-scope phases, so the client approves scope and budget one phase at a time rather than committing to the whole roadmap upfront.

Each client has a project manager who speaks business, not jargon, and a shared Slack channel with the engineers. Every week the client sees a demo of working software and a written status note with progress, next steps, risks and decisions needed. The client has access to the task board and the repository at all times, and owns the code from day one.

Weekly demos of working software, plus a short weekly status note: what shipped, what is next, open risks and decisions needed. Engineers are on the client’s Slack for day-to-day questions, and the project manager is available for ad hoc calls. Clients can join sprint planning and reviews every two weeks. Retainer clients get a monthly summary of the work done.

Automated tests are written with the code, and every release goes through a CI/CD pipeline with code review before merge. Engineers test, and QA engineers run regression and release testing. For Pacholi Monitor, a PWA for accountants, all 160 of 160 release tests passed before production. On Fieldera, our own platform, about 454 automated tests cover 343 API endpoints. When we take over code, the audit measures test coverage first, and we add tests around the parts we change.

Risk work starts before the build. Our software audit maps the architecture and dependencies, reviews security, data and test coverage, and ends in a prioritised risk register with a keep, fix or rebuild recommendation. On inherited code we secure repository, cloud and domain access first, then run a Stabilization Sprint (30 to 90 days) to fix the highest risks before new features. During delivery, risks are reviewed with the client at every demo, and fixed-scope phases keep budget exposure small.

A retainer partnership: a named engineer who knows the codebase joins the client’s Slack, takes requests from technical and non-technical staff, and handles bug fixes, updates, security patches and small features. Terms run 3 to 6 months at a fixed monthly fee. For larger ongoing work, a senior engineering pod works against named delivery KPIs. CondoGenie has worked with us this way from 2018 to the present, and its active users grew from 1,398 in 2019 to 19,324 in 2025.