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DesignKey Studio
A team mapping out a product architecture on a wall of notes

Fixed scope

Get the strategy right before anyone writes code.

For companies replacing a system their business already runs on, or launching a platform they intend to own for years. Strategy, architecture and design come first, because that is where the expensive mistakes are made.

From $80,000. Regulated builds add 20 to 30 percent for compliance design and review.

PRODUCT BUILDSTRATEGY FIRSTARCHITECTUREDESIGN TO PRODUCTIONFIXED SCOPEBUILT TO CONTINUEPRODUCT BUILDSTRATEGY FIRSTARCHITECTUREDESIGN TO PRODUCTIONFIXED SCOPEBUILT TO CONTINUEPRODUCT BUILDSTRATEGY FIRSTARCHITECTUREDESIGN TO PRODUCTIONFIXED SCOPEBUILT TO CONTINUE

HOW A BUILD RUNS

Strategy, then architecture, then code

  1. 01

    Paid discovery

    One to two weeks producing a scoped brief, an architecture sketch and a quote. Credited toward the build, and yours to keep if you take it elsewhere. Free proposals agree with you; paid discovery is where we tell you what we would drop.

  2. 02

    Product strategy

    What the software has to do for the business, in what order, and what success looks like in numbers. We learn how your business actually runs before we design anything, because most software fails on the process rather than the code.

  3. 03

    Architecture

    The decisions that are expensive to reverse: data model, tenancy, integration surface, auth, where the regulatory boundary sits. Made deliberately at the start rather than discovered in month four.

  4. 04

    Design that ships

    UX and UI that survive the build, because the designer and the engineers are on the same engagement and the same backlog. Not Figma files that look good in isolation and get quietly redrawn in code.

  5. 05

    Build and ship

    Two-week cycles, working software at every demo, a written progress note every week. Fixed price when the scope is genuinely lockable, time and materials with a soft cap when it is honestly fluid, and we do not pretend the second is the first.

  6. 06

    What happens after launch

    Most builds end in an embedded team or a care retainer rather than a handoff. If you would rather take it in-house, we hand over to the team you hired and document it properly. We have done all three.

Our Process

A delivery rhythm you can plan around

Every build runs the same five phases, with the same milestones and the same reporting, so you always know where the work is and what is coming next.

Typical engagement: 10-14 weeks to first launch

AI-assisted engineering, human-led quality - we ship faster without cutting corners.

  1. Project Kickoff

    Phase 1 of 5

    1 week

    Initial meeting, requirements gathering, and team alignment. We define project scope, set expectations, and establish communication channels to ensure a smooth collaboration.

    Deliverables
    Signed ContractProject BriefTeam IntroductionCommunication Setup
  2. Discovery & Design

    Phase 2 of 5

    2-3 weeks

    Research, wireframes, and UI/UX designs finalized and approved. We analyze your market, create user personas, and design intuitive interfaces that delight users.

    Deliverables
    User ResearchWireframesUI MockupsDesign System
  3. Prototype & Testing

    Phase 3 of 5

    1-2 weeks

    Interactive prototype for user testing and validation. We gather feedback and iterate before full development begins, ensuring we build the right product.

    Deliverables
    Clickable PrototypeUser TestingFeedback ReportIteration
  4. Development

    Phase 4 of 5

    4-6 weeks

    Full product development with all features implemented. Our AI-assisted engineers ship production code at a pace traditional teams cannot match, with senior review keeping scalability, performance, and security uncompromised.

    Deliverables
    Frontend AppBackend APIDatabaseIntegrations
  5. Launch & Growth

    Phase 5 of 5

    2+ weeks

    Deployment to production with monitoring and support. We ensure a smooth launch and provide ongoing optimization to help your product succeed in the market.

    Deliverables
    Live ProductDocumentationTrainingSupport Plan

WHY US

What you are actually buying

Anyone can write the code. What separates builds that carry a business for years from the ones that get rewritten is the judgement applied before the first commit.

We tell you what we would drop

Before we start, including the parts of your plan we think are wrong. Clients get exactly the build they asked for all the time; that is not the same as getting a product that works.

Process before code

We learn how your business runs first. Most failed software failed because it modelled a process nobody actually follows, not because the engineering was weak.

Senior people on the work

The people who scoped it build it. No principal-scopes, juniors-deliver arrangement.

Published bands, not a discovery maze

Our ranges are on the site. You should be able to tell whether we are in your bracket before you spend an hour on a call.

Regulated surfaces priced in

Compliance design and review add 20 to 30 percent and we say so up front. Discovering it in month three is how fixed-price builds turn into change orders.

Built to continue

The team that builds it is the team that can keep running it, for years rather than months. The build is the beginning of the relationship, not the whole of it.

What builds cost

Published bands, so you can rule us in or out

ShapeBandTimeline
Multi-tenant SaaS platform$70,000 to $140,00014 to 20 weeks
Enterprise platform, multiple surfaces$150,000 to $400,00020 to 32 weeks
Regulated surface, any of the aboveAdd 20 to 30 percentCompliance design and review

Smaller and narrower builds exist and we quote them on a call when that is the honest answer. If your budget is well under this and you are trying to find out whether the idea is worth funding at all, a prototype or a product and architecture review is the better first step, and both are credited toward whatever you build afterwards.

Building for iOS and Android, or adding mobile to a product that already works on the web, is the most common shape these engagements take. The stack, the review cycles and the store submissions are covered on the mobile app development page, and it runs as a Product Build like any other.

STACK

What we build on

Chosen per build against what you already run and who will maintain it, not because it is what we like this year.
  • React logoReact
  • Next.js logoNext.js
  • TypeScript logoTypeScript
  • Node.js logoNode.js
  • NestJS logoNestJS
  • .NET logo.NET
  • React Native logoReact Native
  • Flutter logoFlutter
  • PostgreSQL logoPostgreSQL
  • AWS logoAWS
  • Azure logoAzure
  • Docker logoDocker
  • Kubernetes logoKubernetes
  • GraphQL logoGraphQL

Case studies

Real projects we've shipped

Platforms we built that are still carrying the businesses they were built for.

See More Cases

HOW ENGAGEMENTS START

Three ways to work with us

Most engagements start on the first rung and grow. You are not committing to the destination by taking the first step.

Start here

Product & Architecture Review

You have a system that is straining, or a build you are about to commit to, and you want an honest read before you spend.

Two to three weeks, fixed price, credited in full against the build if you go ahead.

Fixed price, quoted before we startCredited toward the build

Product & Architecture Review

The flagship

Embedded Product Team

You have product work every month and no team that can just run with it, or you are carrying a vendor who cannot.

A senior squad and a named US product lead who owns the outcome, inside your process, billed monthly.

A monthly team rate, set by the squad you needMonth to month

Embedded Product Team

Fixed scope

You are here

Product Build

You know what needs to exist, and you need a team that will get the strategy right before it starts writing code.

Strategy and architecture first, then the build, ending in a team engagement rather than a handoff.

$150,000 to $400,00020 to 32 weeks

This page

You do not have to pick the last one to start. A review or a prototype from $5,000 is how most of our longest relationships opened, and both are credited toward whatever you build next. Where those relationships ended up is the embedded team, years later.

FAQ

Build questions, answered

What buyers ask before committing a build budget.

Ready to get started?

Bring us the problem, not the requirements

Thirty minutes to work out what actually needs to exist. If a review or a prototype is the smarter first step, we will tell you that instead.