Is it possible to build a durable house without a project and blueprints? Is it possible to assess the cost of its construction without an estimate? Of course not, you might say. Indeed, unless we’re talking about a village hut, no one would even think of building a house without blueprints.
Nevertheless, when creating mobile and web apps, customers very often overlook such an important stage as design. This leads to conflicts with developers, discrepancies in expectations and, as a result, project failure, wasted money and time.
Let’s tell you how we succeed in creating cool mobile and web apps.
Working with any order at Polygant begins with the development of a technical specification. This is a required step. It takes 100 team hours and costs about 5000 USD. Evaluation of projects in terms of cost and timing is possible only if we develop a detailed technical specification.
In the created technical specification, we provide a calculation of the cost and timeline for the project and forward it for approval. As soon as a customer agrees to them, we initiate the project.
Development is usually divided into 3-4 stages, with clear indicators of product readiness. Payment can also be divided into stages.
We work according to the Agile methodology with a division into sprints of 1 week duration. As a rule, the working version of the product is updated within a week and our clients can observe its development in real time. Creation of the initial working version can take 3-4 sprints from the start.
After the project is completed and delivered, we provide paid tech support and maintenance for an unlimited time.
Project specification
Just as a good house can’t be built without a project and blueprints, so too a good application can’t be developed without detailed specification. A project concept (also known as Terms of Reference or a Design Document in mobile games) is exactly where you need to start developing any product, and this is the first thing we start with each client. Without a project specification, it is impossible to accurately estimate the cost and terms of project development.
What the terms of reference are
Terms of reference (ToR) are a document that contains a detailed description of the future product from various angles: the conceptual side, usability and use cases, and technical requirements. In the created ToR, our specialists often include schemes for the screens of the future application, which simplifies perception.
What tasks ToR solve
ToR allow you to detail the project and work out all the nuances on which the cost and timing can largely depend. And they interest the customer most of all.
Synchronise the understanding of the project between the customer and the contractor. Often this understanding can be very different and without a well-developed ToR can lead to conflicts.
Identify ways to address complex aspects of the project.
Our services for the development of ToR are provided by specialists of the highest qualification and with experience in various fields. They can see optimal solutions where others can’t.
What the components of ToR are
Each ToR has its own structure, but in general, we can highlight the main sections:
Description of the project. A simple explanation of what kind of product or service is being developed, what it is for, how it works.
Component structure. What components will be in the product: back end, front end, mobile apps, how they will interact with each other.
Technology stack. What programming languages will be used, technical requirements for the software.
Use cases. Scenarios of application usage by users. This section may also include a screen map and key screen mockups.
Security and fault tolerance. How tamper protection will be implemented, as well as load resilience and scalability.
On average, terms of references consist of 20–40 A4 pages. At the end of ToR, our specialists provide a calculation of the cost and timeline for the project.
How the terms of reference are made
Polygant allocates a project manager to maintain ongoing contact with the customer, learning the details of the desired application and proposing certain solutions. If necessary, he can involve more specialised professionals not only from the technical but also from the legal side in the development of ToR.
The project concept document is prepared in Google Docs, which we immediately provide access to. Thus, the customer can monitor the preparation of this.
Telegram 
WhatsApp
WhatsApp
