Our Process

How We Work

A predictable, transparent delivery process designed to ship real software every two weeks — with the discipline procurement teams and CTOs need to sleep at night.

Five phases

From first call to ongoing support

Every project follows the same five phases, scaled to fit the size and scope. A focused MVP might compress phases 1 and 2 into a single week. A large multi-tenant platform might run multiple build sprints in parallel. The shape stays the same.

Discovery

1–2 weeks

Before we write a line of code, we make sure we understand what success looks like. Discovery is about asking the questions that prevent expensive mistakes later.

What happens

Stakeholder interviews with the people who'll actually use the system
Technical scoping of integrations, data sources, and constraints
Workflow mapping for the processes the software needs to support
Risk identification for things that could derail the project
Non-functional requirements (compliance, accessibility, data residency, security)

Deliverables

Discovery report summarising findings and decisions
User stories or requirements document
Initial technical recommendations
Honest go / no-go assessment

Architecture & Planning

1 week

We turn the discovery output into a concrete delivery plan with clear milestones, an honest timeline, and a fixed scope you can sign off.

What happens

Solution architecture (database, API, frontend, infrastructure, integrations)
Sprint plan and milestone roadmap aligned to business deadlines
Cost estimate broken down by milestone
Hosting and operational cost projection (Azure, third-party services)
Acceptance criteria for each milestone agreed in writing

Deliverables

Architecture document with diagrams
Detailed proposal and statement of work
Sprint backlog seeded with the first 2-3 sprints' worth of stories
Project communication plan

Build

Iterative 2-week sprints

Real software, shipped in tight loops. Every two weeks you see working software, give feedback, and the next sprint adapts to what we learned.

What happens

Two-week sprints with sprint planning at the start and a demo at the end
Friday demos so you see real progress every fortnight
Weekly written status updates with what shipped, what's blocked, what's next
Continuous integration and automated testing on every commit
Code reviewed against security, performance, and resilience criteria
Deployed to a staging environment from day one so you can click around any time

Deliverables

Working software in staging at the end of every sprint
Sprint review notes and updated backlog
Open access to the code repository (you own the IP from day one)
Architecture decision records for any significant technical choices

Launch

1 week

Shipping is a milestone, not the end of the project. We treat go-live as a controlled event with a clear plan, smoke testing, and zero-downtime deployment.

What happens

Production environment provisioned and configured (Azure infrastructure-as-code)
Deployment plan with rollback strategy
Smoke testing on production immediately after deployment
Load testing if relevant for the use case
Monitoring and alerting configured before go-live, not after
Knowledge transfer session with your team

Deliverables

Production system live and verified
Deployment runbook
Monitoring dashboards and alert configuration
Handover document covering operations, troubleshooting, and known issues

Ongoing Support

Optional, flexible

Most projects benefit from continued involvement after launch. We offer support agreements that fit how much you actually need - not predefined tiers designed to extract maximum margin.

What happens

Pay-as-you-go support for occasional fixes and small enhancements
Monthly retainer for predictable bug fixing, monitoring, and feature work
Proactive monitoring with alerts routed to a Zim Digital engineer
Quarterly review calls to discuss roadmap, performance, and any concerns
First-line incident response for critical production issues

Deliverables

Support agreement that matches your actual needs
Defined response time SLAs
Direct contact details for escalation
Continuous improvement of the system over its lifetime

How we work, at any phase

The principles behind every project

The phases describe the process. These are the values that hold across every phase of every project we deliver.

Honest communication

If something is going wrong, you'll hear about it from us before you notice. If we think a feature is a bad idea, we'll say so. If a deadline is at risk, we flag it early enough to do something about it.

You own everything

Code, documentation, infrastructure, designs, intellectual property — all of it is yours from day one. We don't lock clients into our hosting, our tooling, or our continued involvement. You can take it elsewhere whenever you want.

Boring technology, by default

We use proven, well-supported, hire-able tech stacks (.NET, React, Azure, PostgreSQL) unless there's a specific reason to do otherwise. Your future maintenance team will thank us.

Production-grade from sprint one

Every sprint produces working software in a real staging environment. No 'we'll deploy it at the end' projects. No 'demo only' code. Every commit is built, tested, and deployed automatically.

Compliance built-in, not bolted on

GDPR, accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA), data residency, audit trails, security headers — all considered from the architecture stage, not retrofitted. If you might bid on public sector work, we build for that from day one.

Engagement Types

Different shapes of project, same process

Not every engagement is a full build. Whatever shape your project takes, the same five-phase process scales to fit.

Focused MVP

6–12 weeks · single product

A new product or internal tool taken from idea to working software in a tight timeline. Compressed discovery, focused scope, lots of iteration.

Multi-Phase Platform

3–9 months · multiple releases

Multi-tenant SaaS, public sector systems, or platforms with staged rollouts. Multiple build sprints, multiple stakeholders, longer commitment.

Technical Consultancy

Ongoing or fixed-scope

Architecture reviews, agile coaching, hands-on engineering support, or technical due diligence. Discovery and planning phases scale down, build phase is replaced by advisory work.

Public Sector Tender

Procurement-driven

Bid response, fixed scope, formal acceptance criteria. Same five phases plus additional procurement requirements (DPA, policies, accessibility audits, KPI reporting).

Modernisation

Existing system upgrade

Replatforming legacy systems onto modern .NET, React, and Azure. Discovery focuses on the existing system, build phase runs in parallel with the legacy until cutover.

Bespoke Website

3–8 weeks · marketing

Brand-driven website builds (this very site is an example). Discovery is design and content focused; build is one tight sprint; launch handles SEO and analytics setup.

Want to talk about your project?

Every engagement starts with a no-obligation discovery call. We'll talk through your goals, constraints, and the realistic shape of the work — no sales pitch, no vague proposals.

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Ready to Build Something?

Whether you're planning a new application, need technical consultancy, or preparing a tender response — let's talk.

Get in Touch [email protected]