How We Build Custom Software Around Your Business
Having custom software built can feel like a large step, particularly if you have never commissioned anything like it before.
You may understand the problem perfectly and know what the finished system needs to achieve, while having absolutely no idea what happens between telling us about it and putting it into use.
The short answer is that we listen, ask quite a lot of questions and work out how to turn the idea into something real.
The longer answer is below.
If you are still working out what custom software could do for your business, we have another article covering exactly that. If you already have an idea, here is what happens next.
It Starts With a Conversation
Talking to us about your idea is free. So is the work we do at that stage to understand the idea and decide whether we can help. There is no consultancy invoice waiting behind the curtain and nothing added retrospectively if the project goes ahead.
We ask questions. Usually quite a lot of them.
Who will use the system? What do they need to do? What happens before that? What happens afterwards? What information is involved? Which parts must never go wrong? What does everybody currently do when something unexpected happens?
That last question is often where the most useful information lives.
People usually describe how a job works when everything goes correctly. We also need to know what happens when it doesn’t: the customer changes their mind halfway through, only part of a delivery arrives, a staff member loses their signal or a manager needs to correct a mistake without deleting the original record.
We need to understand those things because proper software is not built only for the day when everything goes according to plan.
It is built for the day when it doesn’t.
Working Out What Needs Building
Once we understand the idea, we start working out what needs to exist behind the screen to make it happen.
That might include different types of users, rules about who can see what, information coming from other services, calculations, automatic messages, maps, payments, documents, reports or actions that need to happen when somebody presses a button.
We also consider what happens when they don’t press the button.
What if somebody forgets to finish a task? What if two people change the same information? What if a payment fails, a service is temporarily unavailable or somebody tries to do something they are not allowed to do?
The customer should not have to think about every possible situation before speaking to us. That is part of our job.
We take what you know about your business and turn it into a plan for the software. We agree what needs to be included, explain how we intend to approach it and provide a proposal and quotation before the build begins.
We do not spend six months producing an enormous technical document that nobody outside a software company wants to read. But we do make sure the important decisions have been made before we start merrily building in the wrong direction.
Building the Right Version
Not every project needs to be built all at once.
Sometimes the sensible approach is to begin with the part that solves the most immediate problem, put it into use and add more once everyone has had a chance to work with it.
Sometimes the system only makes sense if several substantial parts are built together from the beginning.
There is no rule that every project must start as a tiny app, just as there is no prize for making the first version unnecessarily enormous.
We work out what is right for the particular project.
If the software is being built in stages, those stages are planned so that each one moves towards the complete system. We are not cobbling together temporary pieces and hoping they eventually resemble the original idea.
You Can Be as Involved as You Like
Some customers want to see everything as it develops. Others would rather receive regular updates, make the important decisions and leave us to get on with the building.
Both are fine.
We involve you as much as you would like to be involved. We can show you layouts, demonstrations and working parts of the system as they are completed. You can tell us what feels right, what needs changing and what made perfect sense in a conversation but feels completely wrong once somebody tries to use it.
This is a proper back-and-forth.
We are not going to disappear for three months, return with a finished system and expect a round of applause simply because all the buttons work.
The people using the software matter too. A manager may need to see the entire operation, while somebody completing one task on a phone needs a screen that gets them in, lets them do the job and gets them out again.
Where possible, we include those people in the process. They are usually the ones who spot the small detail that makes the difference between software that technically works and software people actually want to use.
Testing the Real World
Software has to work when everything goes according to plan.
More importantly, it has to behave properly when it doesn’t.
We test the obvious journey, but we also test the awkward one. The customer who changes their mind. The staff member who taps twice. The record with missing information. The person working without a signal. The outside service that suddenly stops responding.
For larger systems, we also consider what happens when many people are using it, large amounts of information are being processed or different parts of the software are trying to do things at the same time.
Access is checked properly. A customer should not be able to see another customer’s information. A member of staff should not accidentally gain access to a manager’s controls. An outside contractor should see the job they have been given, not the company’s complete customer list.
Backups, monitoring and recovery are not exciting subjects. Nobody unveils a backup system with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
They become considerably more interesting on the day something goes wrong.
That is why we think about them before that day arrives.
How Long Does It Take?
It depends on what we are building.
A focused tool could take days. A larger system with several types of users, complicated rules, existing information and connections to outside services could take months.
Every project is unique, and giving everybody the same timescale before understanding the work would be little more than picking a number out of a hat.
Once we understand what is involved, we explain the likely stages and give you a realistic idea of how long the work should take.
If something changes during the project, we talk about it. We do not quietly allow a deadline to wander into the distance while sending increasingly creative versions of “nearly there”.
Putting It Into Use
Finishing the build is not the same as successfully launching it.
Depending on the project, we can transfer existing information, set up hosting, arrange backups and monitoring, train staff and provide written instructions or help guides.
We can support the launch while people begin using the software for real. That is often when the best improvements become obvious—not because the system was wrong, but because real people have a remarkable talent for using things in ways nobody predicted.
After launch, we can continue maintaining and improving the software as the business changes.
Or we can complete the agreed handover.
Who Owns the Software?
That depends on the contract, and it is agreed clearly before the work begins.
If the agreement is for us to complete the system and hand everything over, then once that handover is finished, the customer has the rights to it.
Other customers prefer us to host, maintain and continue developing the software through a retainer. That keeps the system with the people who built it and gives the customer ongoing access to support and improvements.
A retainer is not a trap. It can be cancelled at any time.
The right arrangement depends on the project, how the software will be used and what the customer wants to manage themselves.
Whatever is agreed, it should be understood from the start. Your business should never depend on a system while you remain unsure who owns it, where the information lives or what happens if the working relationship ends.
Meet the People Building It
We are a team of three based at the bottom of a fell in the Lake District.
There is no sales team, no account manager passing messages to a project manager and no mysterious development department hidden in another building.
When you speak to Richah, you speak to the people planning, designing and building the software.
Being based in the Lake District is part of who we are. We work from one of the most distinctive parts of the country, building software for businesses and organisations wherever they happen to be.
Our Meet the Team page shows you who we are, what each of us does and who you will actually be talking to.
Tell Us the “I Don’t Know if This Is Possible” Part
You do not need to tidy the idea up before bringing it to us.
It can be a complete plan for a new platform, an ageing system that needs rebuilding, several pieces of software that need joining together or simply something your business needs to do that no existing product handles properly.
Tell us what you are trying to achieve.
We will ask the questions, work through the difficult parts and tell you honestly whether we think we can help. If there is a simpler or less expensive way to solve it, we will tell you that too.
Talking to us about your idea is free, and there is no obligation to take it any further.
If you would like to understand the likely costs first, our Custom Software Pricing Guide will explain what affects the price and the different ways a project can be approached.
Custom software is not always the right route. If what you need is a new website, you can explore our Website Services. If you would rather begin with a complete application that can be reshaped around your business, take a look at the RiCollection.
Where to Go Next
What Can Custom Software Actually Do?
Ongoing Website Management Prices
Do I have to pay for the initial consultation about my software idea?
No, talking to us about your idea is completely free. There's no consultancy invoice and nothing gets added retrospectively if you decide to go ahead with the project.
Who owns the software after you build it?
That depends on the contract, and it's agreed clearly before work begins. You can own it outright after handover, or we can host and maintain it through a retainer while you have ongoing access to it.
What happens if something goes wrong after the software launches?
We can support the launch while people start using the software and handle any issues that come up. After launch, we can continue maintaining and improving it as your business changes, or complete an agreed handover if you prefer to manage it yourself.