Case study
Partner Finder, by a small team.
From a written problem to Android, iPhone and both app stores: 136 tested versions in three months, and a person decided every one.
What we do
Everything a phone app needs to reach the people it is for, from the first screen to the store listing.
- 01
Android and iPhone apps
One product on both platforms, with the same behaviour and the same words, so your customers never have to ask which phone it was made for.
- 02
Watch apps
A companion on the wrist when it earns its place: a glance, an action, nothing that belongs on the phone.
- 03
The services behind an app
Accounts, sign-in on a new phone, purchases and notifications, kept small and plain so there is less to go wrong.
- 04
Limits written first
We decide before building what the product must never do, how little it can collect and how a person stops using it.
- 05
Store submission and review
Listings, screenshots, age ratings, test accounts and the questions reviewers ask, prepared from the first week rather than the last.
- 06
Testing on real phones
Radios, batteries and permissions only show their real behaviour on real devices, so every release is tried on them before it reaches anyone.
Our tools and our people
The tools do the volume. People do the judgment.
It is why a small team can work at this pace, and why the pace never decides what ships.
The latest tools
Draft and check.
- Research the problem, the platforms and the store rules
- Draft code, tests and the words on every screen
- Run the tests and checks on every version
- Keep store notes and privacy answers current
A person
Decides.
- Writes the problem and what the software must never do
- Reads every change before it is kept
- Tries each release on real phones
- Approves every release, or sends it back with a reason
We tell you which tools work on your project and what they can see, and we leave out any you say no to.
How an engagement works
Four steps, no surprises.
Each step ends in something you can read, hold or try, and nothing starts until the step before it is agreed in writing.
A written problem first
Who has the problem, why the current tools fall short, and what done looks like. If we cannot write it plainly, we do not start.
You get a one-page problem statement you can share.
Fixed-scope phases
Each phase has a written scope, agreed before it starts, and ends in something you can hold and try on a real phone.
You get a working build at the end of every phase.
Plain-language updates
Every week: what worked, what did not, and what is next, in words anyone on your side can read.
You get a written note every week.
You own the result
The code, the store accounts, the services and the keys are yours from the start. If we part ways, you keep everything.
You get all of it, from day one.
What you get
Everything you need to run the app without us.
- The source code, in your own repository
- Your own store accounts and listings
- The services, running in your own accounts
- A written test record for every release
- The design, with the words for every screen
- Weekly written updates, kept as a history
What we won’t build
Some work we turn down.
The rules our own products follow apply to what we build for you.
- Selling personal information.
- Consent screens designed to be missed.
- Anything that hides what it does from the person using it.
Questions
Before you write.
The answers to what people ask first.
What does a project cost?
It depends on the problem. We price the first phase after the written problem is agreed, and every phase after that before it starts. We do not publish rates, and we do not start work without a written price.
How long does it take?
We agree each phase’s length in writing before it starts, and each one ends in something you can try on a real phone. You can stop after any phase and keep everything built so far.
What tools do you use?
The latest, cutting-edge tools for design, code, testing and store submission, and we tell you which ones work on your project. A person writes the problem, reads every change and decides every release.
Who owns the code and the accounts?
You do, from the start: the source code, the store accounts, the services and the keys. If we part ways, you keep everything.
Where are you, and how do we work together?
We are in Utica, New York, and we work by email and video calls, with a written note every week. Where you are matters less than what you need.
Start a project
Tell us what you are trying to do.
Two or three sentences are enough. We answer with questions, not a quote. Please do not send passwords, keys or personal data by email.