Process Basecamp-first 13 years iterated
The process that ships on time.
Most engineering projects fail at coordination, not code. Our process exists because we have run hundreds of them and learned where the friction lives. Project management on Basecamp, written weekly status reports, two-reviewer rule on every production branch, full handover documentation. Boring on purpose.
Process
Discovery + scoping
Two-week discovery for every multi-week project. Architecture review, stakeholder interviews, risk audit, written fixed-price quote. No surprises after kickoff.
Process
Development + sprints
Every hour goes into a Basecamp todo with a written summary. Weekly Friday status report, optional 30-minute call, two-reviewer rule on every production branch. You always know what shipped and what is next.
Process
Code review standards
Two-reviewer rule on production branches, automated linting and testing gates, security review before any auth or payment touch. The same standards we use on our own products.
Process
Handover + documentation
Every project ends with operational documentation, runbooks, deployment guides, and a 30-day warranty window. Your team can take over without losing context.
Process
Cross-timezone collaboration
EST, PST, and IST coverage. Async-first by default through Basecamp. Daily written todos, weekly written status, optional video reviews. Timezone difference becomes a productivity feature, not friction.
How a typical engagement runs
Four operational pillars on every project.
The five pages above describe each phase of work. Below is what runs across all of them. Same shape on a 20-hour pay-as-you-go block as on a six-month fixed-price build.
- 01
Project management on Basecamp
Every engagement runs on Basecamp. Todos for every task, message-board updates, complete written history of every decision. No "trust us" emails, no Slack DMs that get lost.
See engagement model › - 02
Weekly written status report
Every Friday: what shipped, what is in progress, what is blocked, hours consumed, hours remaining. Written, archived, auditable. Risks surface the day we know, not the day before launch.
See sprint cadence › - 03
30-minute weekly call (optional)
A 30-minute call every week if you want one, optional otherwise. Most clients drop it after week three because the written report is enough. Available when you need it.
Book a 30-minute slot › - 04
Development access from day one
Staging server you can log into, git repository you can audit, branch and pull-request history you can review, code-review comments visible to you. Engineering is not a black box.
See review standards ›
0
missed kickoff dates in the last 24 months
Discovery commits to a kickoff date. We have not missed one. If we cannot, we do not commit.
Ready to start a discovery?
Two weeks. Fixed price. Written deliverables.
Discovery is the only commitment for the first two weeks. Build phase only kicks off after you sign off on the discovery output.