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About

A development team that writes things down

Codecounty builds and maintains software for companies that need a team rather than a contractor. The way we work is the thing worth telling you about, so that is what this page is about.

Principles

Why we work this way

Software projects rarely fail at the keyboard. They fail earlier, in the gap between what a client meant and what a team heard, and the gap does not become visible until money has been spent covering it up.

So we put the expensive thinking first. Before a build starts, there is a document that says what is being made, how it is put together, what order it happens in and what it costs. It exists so that when something changes, and it will, there is a written thing to change rather than an argument about what was agreed.

That is a slower start than most firms offer. It is deliberate.

The time comes back. Work built on a written plan spends its budget on the product rather than on discovering, mid build, what was actually wanted.

How we work

Four commitments, in writing

Phrased so that you can hold us to each one, and notice if one goes missing.

Codecounty working commitments FOUR CLAUSES

  1. Decisions get written down

    Not because documentation is virtuous, but because a decision nobody recorded gets remade every few weeks, and you pay for it each time.

  2. You hear bad news early

    An estimate that has gone wrong is worth more to you in week two than in month four. We would rather have the uncomfortable call.

  3. We push back

    If you ask for something we think is a mistake, we will say so once, clearly, with a reason. Then it is your product and your call.

  4. You keep everything

    Code, infrastructure, documentation, from the first day.

Set out before any work starts Changes to these are also written down

In place of a track record

New, and saying so plainly

We are early in the life of this firm. That means no track record and nothing to hide behind, which is exactly why the terms are written down before anyone commits, and why first engagements are kept small.

What you get is attention, and rates that reflect where the firm is in its life rather than a reputation priced in.

Judge us on the first bounded piece of paid work. It is designed so that being wrong about us costs you a little, not a lot.

How the work runs

Three steps. The first one is the product.

Everything else on this site follows from these three steps.

  1. 01

    Discovery that ends in a written plan

    A short piece of paid work. We sit with the problem and you get back a document that says what is being made, how it fits together, what order it gets built in, and what it costs. The plan is yours unconditionally. Take it to us, take it to another firm, or decide not to build at all.

  2. 02

    A named team, and one person you can reach

    The people who understood the problem build the thing. You get names rather than a rotating cast, and one lead who answers to you directly. If someone is not working out, we raise it first and manage the replacement ourselves.

  3. 03

    Progress you can check, changes you can price

    Work arrives in increments you can see and use, not in a reveal at the end. When scope moves, and it will, the change is costed in writing before anybody starts it.

Next step

Start with a conversation, not a contract

Tell us what you are trying to build. If we are the wrong people for it, we will say so on the call and point you at someone better suited.

Book a discovery call