How we work
Six stages from discovery to run, the same ones Tankar uses on its own products. Each stage ends with an artifact you can open rather than a status update.
The six stages
What happens in each stage, and what it produces. The artifacts are the proof: a scope document, a prototype, working software in your repository, a test report, a runbook, a monthly report.
- 1
Discovery
Understand the problem, the users and the constraints, then write down what will be built and what it will cost.
Activities
- Sign the NDA before any detailed discussion
- Scoped call with the people who own the problem
- Review of existing systems, data and integrations
- User and workflow mapping
- Risk and assumption review
- Written estimate with the engagement model that fits
Artifacts
- Scope document
- Written estimate within 48 hours of the scoped call
- Risk register
The written estimate follows within 48 hours of the scoped call.
- 2
Design
Turn the scope into screens and flows that can be clicked through and tested before engineering starts.
Activities
- Information architecture and user flows
- Wireframes, then clickable prototype
- Design system tokens: colour, type, spacing, components
- Accessibility review of the prototype
- Technical design: data model, integrations, architecture note
Artifacts
- Clickable prototype
- Design system tokens
- Architecture note and data model
- 3
Build
Engineers build in sprints against the prototype and the architecture note, with progress visible every week.
Activities
- Repository set up in your account with CI from the first commit
- Sprint planning against the shared board
- Code review on every change
- Weekly demo of working software
- Automated tests written alongside features
Artifacts
- Weekly demo
- Shared project board
- Code in your repository from week one
An MVP typically runs 8 to 12 weeks from discovery to launch; build is the largest part of that.
- 4
Test
Check the product against the scope, the design and the performance and accessibility budgets before anyone outside the team sees it.
Activities
- Test plan agreed against the scope document
- Automated unit, integration and end-to-end tests
- Manual exploratory testing by the QA engineer
- Accessibility and performance audit
- Security review of the release candidate
- User acceptance testing with you
Artifacts
- Test plan
- Automated test report
- Accessibility and performance audit
- 5
Launch
Release to production in a controlled way, hand over the knowledge, and confirm the product is running as expected.
Activities
- Release checklist walked through with you
- Production environment, backups and monitoring in place
- Data migration, where needed, rehearsed before the cut-over
- Handover session with your team
- Post-launch check of errors, performance and analytics
Artifacts
- Release checklist
- Runbook
- Handover session
- 6
Run
Keep the product healthy after launch: monitoring, fixes, security updates and a monthly view of what to do next.
Activities
- Monitoring and an incident process
- Security patching and dependency updates
- Small improvements from reserved hours
- Monthly review of what was done and what is recommended next
Artifacts
- Monthly report
How the stages map to engagement models
The stages are the same under every model. The model decides how they are priced, who sets the backlog and where the engagement ends.
- Fixed price
- Runs all six stages against a scope document, with the price agreed after discovery.
- Time and materials
- Runs the same stages sprint by sprint, with the backlog prioritised together and billing for the time spent.
- Dedicated team
- Works your backlog in your tools through build, test, launch and run, with the team shape reviewed at agreed intervals.
- Product partnership
- One team from discovery through launch and into run, with the roadmap reviewed together and releases planned against it.
- Retainer and support
- Covers the run stage on its own: monitoring, fixes, small improvements and a monthly report under an SLA.
Tell us what you are building.
NDA on request. Written estimate within 48 hours of a scoped call. Reply within one business day.