Software development

Agile is an approach to software development in which work happens in short cycles — usually 1–4 weeks long. At the end of each cycle the client sees a working result and gives feedback, and the requirements can be refined. That way the system better matches real needs, and risks are spotted in time.

An MVP (minimum viable product) is the first version of a system with only the most important features — it already solves the main problem and can be put to use. It lets you get the benefit sooner, test the idea with real users and spend the budget only on what is really needed.

Custom software development means the system is built specifically for your company — around your processes, rules and integrations — instead of buying a ready-made product you have to adapt to. The system belongs to you and can grow together with your business.

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is the set of stages in which a system is created and evolves: requirements analysis, design, development, testing, rollout and maintenance. Today these stages are usually run in short cycles (Agile), so the client sees results quickly and can refine the requirements.

Look at experience with similar projects and references, at whether the developer understands your business (asks questions instead of promising straight away), at the process and communication, source code rights, documentation and maintenance terms. The price should be justified by the scope, not just be low.

A good specification describes the business goal, user roles, processes step by step, the main features with priorities, integrations, data and non-functional requirements (security, speed, accessibility). It doesn’t need to be technical — what matters more is to describe clearly how you work and what needs solving.

AI tools and agents help developers write code, tests and documentation faster, analyse existing code and prototype. For the client this means faster prototypes and more affordable custom systems. But architecture, business understanding, security and quality control remain people’s responsibility.

It depends on the scope, but in our projects the average time to the first working version (MVP) is 6–9 months. A small solution for one process can be ready sooner, while complex systems with many integrations evolve over years — gradually, version by version.

In business systems and web development, JavaScript and TypeScript, Python, PHP, Java, C# and Go are widespread. More important for the client than the specific language is whether the technology is widespread and maintainable, whether it has a mature framework and whether you’ll be able to find developers to keep developing the system.

The contract decides. In custom development contracts it is usually agreed that the client gets the rights to the system and its source code, or a broad licence to use and develop it. This must be written clearly into the contract, along with access to the code, documentation and the licences of third-party components.