Custom Software Development Process

A guaranteed budget before a line of code is written.

Most software projects are priced before the real problems are understood. That's why budgets slip. Every step below is designed to surface those problems first — so your price is locked before engineering ever starts.

discovery call

We start with a working session — not a sales call. I assess your core bottleneck or validate your product concept, and give you an honest read on whether a custom build is even the right move financially. A lot of operators and founders leave this call with clarity they didn't have going in.

top-down audit

I come to your Chicago office to align with leadership, map your broken workflows, and audit your codebase. We document reality so hidden requirements don't emerge later.

prototype

I build a clickable prototype of the entire application. You walk through every workflow while fixing them is still free. Once approved, the scope is locked.

build

My team executes the blueprint while I remain your single point of contact. We use AI-assisted coding, reuse components, and integrate existing APIs to protect your budget.

launch & Handoff

We deploy with complete documentation. You own 100% of the code and the IP - no hostage situations.