Skip to main content
DETGAAO

How we build.Pitch to live, in seven stages.

The same process for our own products and for client work. Nothing skips a stage, and the owner says yes before building starts, before screens are coded and before launch.

  1. Pitch

    Who it is for and why they would want it, in three paragraphs a customer would follow. If the pitch does not read right, nothing else starts.

  2. Documents

    Why write nine documents before any code? Because every one of them is cheaper to change on paper: what it must do, how it is built, every screen and the site map, the app flow, the data, the build plan, how it reaches people, the numbers, and what has to be true before launch.

    Kepsu

  3. Screen board

    Every screen is drawn at phone size, in the order a customer meets it, with its waiting and error states. The board is approved before a screen is coded, so the build follows a drawing instead of a guess.

    Tua Bao

  4. Build

    Built in modules, so a new feature plugs in without rebuilding what is already there. Development, test, staging and live each run on their own data.

    Jizo

  5. Audit

    A separate review hunts for bugs and checks the build against the documents and the board. What it finds is fixed before the product moves on.

  6. Launch

    Staging is a near-copy of live with test accounts and test payments. Outside approvals, such as app store reviews, come first: launch waits until a paying customer can use everything they pay for.

    mise en kit

  7. Live

    Customers use it, and it is measured from the first day. Fixes replace code rather than pile on top of it.

    HamdoiBabas Büezer Beiz

What every product follows

  • Documents before code

    Anything that will be sold gets its pitch and nine documents first. Building starts on a yes.

  • Screens drawn before they are built

    Larger changes wait for approval on the board; a line of copy goes on the board and proceeds.

  • Four environments, four sets of data

    A preview never writes to live data, and nothing reaches live without passing staging.

  • A fix replaces code

    Old code is deleted, not commented out or hidden behind a switch. The history is in version control.

  • Launch means it works for the customer

    Not when it is finished: when a paying customer can use the whole promise, outside approvals included.

Where each product stands

  • mise en kit
    1. Pitch
    2. Documents
    3. Screen board
    4. Build
    5. Audit
    6. Launch
    7. Live

    Launching

  • Jizo
    1. Pitch
    2. Documents
    3. Screen board
    4. Build
    5. Audit
    6. Launch
    7. Live

    In build

  • Tua Bao
    1. Pitch
    2. Documents
    3. Screen board
    4. Build
    5. Audit
    6. Launch
    7. Live

    On the drawing board

  • Kepsu
    1. Pitch
    2. Documents
    3. Screen board
    4. Build
    5. Audit
    6. Launch
    7. Live

    In use here daily

  • Hamdoi
    1. Pitch
    2. Documents
    3. Screen board
    4. Build
    5. Audit
    6. Launch
    7. Live

    Runs the studio

  • Babas Büezer Beiz
    1. Pitch
    2. Documents
    3. Screen board
    4. Build
    5. Audit
    6. Launch
    7. Live

    Live