Practical writing from our leadership team on building systems, buying engineering work, and keeping software running after launch.
- WORKING WITH US
What You Actually Get When You Hire a Small Engineering Firm
The real tradeoffs of hiring a small engineering firm instead of a large one, including the situations where a small team is the wrong call.
Alice Milea-CiobanuCEO - AI
What I'd Check Before Putting an LLM Feature in a Government System
A practical pre-build checklist for LLM features in government applications, covering data rules, hosting, evaluation, security, and day-to-day operation.
Landon MannCTO - BUDGETING
Budgeting for Software After It Launches
What to budget for once a software system is live, from security updates and hosting to staff time, and how to plan for it before the build is approved.
Gabriel AshleyCFO - WORKING WITH US
Ask About the Handoff Before You Sign Anything
The handoff decides whether you can actually own the software you paid for. What a good one includes, and how to write it into the scope from the start.
Alice Milea-CiobanuCEO - GOVERNMENT
Seven Things to Settle Before You Sign a Teaming Agreement
What a small business should agree on with a prime contractor before signing a teaming agreement, from workshare and exclusivity to payment terms.
Gabriel AshleyCFO - CONTRACTS
Fixed Price vs. Time and Materials for Software Projects
How fixed-price and time-and-materials agreements divide risk on software projects, what each one asks of the buyer, and how to choose between them.
Gabriel AshleyCFO - DATABASES
Before You Blame the Database, Measure It
How to confirm a database is really what's slowing your application down, what to measure first, and the fixes worth trying before anyone proposes a migration.
Landon MannCTO - SCOPING
Five Questions to Answer Before You Ask for a Quote
How to scope a software project so the quotes that come back are actually comparable, in five questions you can answer before contacting anyone.
Alice Milea-CiobanuCEO - EMBEDDED
Rust or C for Firmware? Here's How I'd Decide
When Rust earns its place in embedded firmware, when C is still the better choice, and the questions that settle it for a specific chip, team, and schedule.
Landon MannCTO
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