How we scope a software project in two weeks

Most software projects that go over budget were never really scoped. Someone wrote a list of features, someone else multiplied it by a day rate, and both sides discovered the real project three months in. Our discovery phase exists to make that discovery in two weeks instead.

Week one: understand the problem

We start with the business, not the feature list. In a series of short workshops we ask:

Who will use it, and what are they doing today instead?
What has to be true for this project to be worth the money a year from now?
What already exists: systems, data, contracts, integrations we must work with?

Then we talk to the people who will actually use the software. Five interviews with real users usually change at least one assumption that everyone in the room was sure about.

Week two: make it concrete

With the problem clear, we sketch the main flows and turn the riskiest ones into a clickable prototype. Putting something on a screen early surfaces questions that a document never does: what happens when the payment fails? who approves a refund?

In parallel, our engineers look at the technical risks: an integration with an unfamiliar API, a performance requirement, a data migration. Each gets a short spike so the estimate is based on evidence, not optimism.

What you get at the end

A written scope for the first release, with what is in and, just as important, what is out.
A clickable prototype of the main flows.
A technical plan: architecture, stack, hosting and third-party services.
A timeline in two-week sprints and a fixed quote for that release.

The scope and prototype are yours whether or not you continue with us. If we are not the right team for the build, you can take them to anyone.

Why not quote straight away?

Because any number given before discovery is a guess, and guesses on software are almost always low. A short, paid discovery protects both sides: you get a price you can plan around, and we get a scope we can actually deliver.

Have a project in mind? Tell us about it and we will suggest how to start.