Notes on planning, buying and overseeing software.
Guides and articles for owners and founders who are about to spend real money on software. Written by the founders, with no sales pitch inside.
All posts
Showing 9 of 11 posts. Page 1 of 2.
What a software development quote should include
Eleven areas to check in any quote before you sign, with what good looks like and the red flags.
10 min readReadHow much does it cost to build an app?
What actually drives the price of an app, with ranges cited to real sources and the questions that narrow them.
Read time to be setReadBuild, buy, or wait: how to decide on custom software
A simple way to tell whether you need custom software, an existing product, or a better process first.
Read time to be setReadHow to validate an app idea before you spend on development
Cheap ways to test demand and the riskiest assumption before a single developer is hired.
Read time to be setReadWhat goes into a software requirements document
Business, functional and technical requirements explained in plain language, with redacted examples.
Read time to be setReadWhat a fractional CTO does, and when a small business needs one
The difference between a fractional CTO, an agency and a freelancer, and the signs it is time to bring one in.
Read time to be setReadQuestions to ask a software agency before you hire them
A one-page list to take into vendor calls, and what good answers sound like.
Read time to be setReadChoosing a hospital information system: questions to ask in vendor demos
How to run demos around your departments and workflows instead of the vendor's script.
Read time to be setReadAutomating insurance claims: where to start
Which parts of the claim journey are safe to automate first, and which need people.
Read time to be setReadHave a question we should write about?
Most of these posts started as a question on an intro call.