How your software is built — from the intro call to operations
A project at Attek Solutions runs through six phases: an intro call of 30 minutes, a personal demo built on your own case, a requirements workshop of two to three hours, the signing of the contract on the basis of the written scope description with a fixed monthly price, the development of the first productive version in one to two months — and ongoing operations. You start paying in the month in which the software is productively in use. This page describes every phase in detail, including what you contribute yourself.
Phase 1: The intro call
The intro call is not a sales pitch but an analysis of your existing situation and the problems within it — with one goal: to establish whether custom software would be worth it in your case. You describe where things get stuck and we advise you on whether we can help you or what the alternatives are.
- What you should bring
- You do not have to prepare anything specific. It helps if you know your current problems and can show us some of them if needed — the spreadsheets or the tools you work with today, and the points within them where the problems arise.
- What we ask
- How does the case run today, who works on it, where are the problems, what have you already tried.
- What comes out of it
- an honest assessment. Some prospects we advise to use off-the-shelf software or other alternatives.
Phase 2: The personal demo
Instead of slides you get software. We take a problem you described in the intro call and show it to you as a working application.
- What you see
- not a product presentation but your own case: the process from the intro call, implemented as a usable interface in which you can see what a result could look like later and whether the value you hope for actually appears.
- Who should be there
- besides the decision-makers, someone who knows the process well. Questions from day-to-day practice are more valuable at this point than any judgement on the visual design.
- What the demo is for
- You judge from your own case whether the effort is worth it, before you sign anything.
- Cost
- none. The demo is part of the quotation phase as well.
Phase 3: The requirements workshop
This is where the understanding is built that later becomes the fixed price.
- How it runs
- We analyse your processes, explicitly cover the special cases, review the associated data and discuss with you how the new process should ideally look. The special cases are the most important part, because they are where off-the-shelf solutions and poor requirements documents fail alike.
- In which formats
- usually by video conference, split into several sessions if needed. Alongside it you prepare the workshop with a questionnaire, and we start collecting requirements from the intro call onwards — so we go in very well prepared and your time in the session stays short. That requirements still change slightly over the course of the project is normal and is accounted for in the project planning.
- Who should be there
- the people who carry out the process regularly — and the decision-makers who have the overview of the processes as a whole. Only both perspectives together give the complete picture.
- Your effort
- two to three hours, split into several short sessions on request.
- Cost
- none. The workshop is part of the quotation phase.
Phase 4: Scope description and signing the contract
The workshop results in a written scope description that sets out three things:
What gets built
as functional building blocks with sub-items, in your language, not in technical terms.
What the first version covers
deliberately the core process, not everything at once.
What it costs
a fixed monthly price for the described scope. No estimate with a range, no additional claims later.
Only on this basis is the contract signed: the scope description is part of the contract and at the same time the yardstick. What it contains gets built. For extensions it is updated, and the monthly price changes with it in a way you can follow. Up to the signature you incur no cost and no obligation.
Phase 5: Development — one to two months to the first productive version
What happens during that time
We build. You answer questions and are shown interim results. Reckon with 30 to 60 minutes per week.
What “productive” means
The first version is accepted against the scope description and goes into real use with real data — if needed initially with a pilot group, in parallel with the existing route. Payment starts in the month in which that is the case. Before that no money changes hands.
If something does not fit
Not all requirements and workflows are fully known at the start — that is normal. So we make changes as soon as real work shows that something has to run differently. We take a pragmatic approach: the measure is not what is written on paper but that real value appears in your process in the end.
Phase 6: Operations and continued development
From now on what the pricing page says applies: hosting, maintenance, security updates and support with a committed response time are included in the monthly price. Two changes per month to existing functions are included as well. New functions extend the scope description and change the monthly price — you find out by how much beforehand.
All details on pricing, SLA, contract term and purchase option →What you contribute in total
Honestly added up, because the question is a fair one:
| Phase | Your effort |
|---|---|
| Intro call | 30 minutes |
| Personal demo | one session, together with the later users |
| Workshop | 2–3 hours, split up or partly asynchronous on request |
| Development | 30–60 minutes per week for questions and interim results |
| Acceptance | a few hours with the later users |
| Operations | state your change requests — nothing else |
a requirements specification, an IT department or technical prior knowledge.
access to the people who actually carry out the process.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take from the intro call to running software?
Typically two to three months in total: intro call, demo and workshop within the first few weeks, then one to two months of development up to the first productive version. The speed depends above all on how quickly the appointments come together.
From when exactly do I pay?
From the month in which the first version has been accepted against the scope description and is used productively with real data. For the intro call, the demo, the workshop, the scope description and all the development before that, nothing is charged.
How long does the requirements workshop take?
Two to three hours. It usually takes place by video conference, split into several sessions if needed, and is prepared alongside with a questionnaire. Because we collect requirements from the intro call onwards, the time needed on your side stays short.
When is the contract signed?
After the requirements workshop. You receive the written scope description with a fixed monthly price for the described scope; only once you accept that basis are the contracts signed. Until then the intro call, the demo and the workshop are free of charge and without obligation.
What happens if the first version does not match what was agreed?
Then it is reworked before it is accepted — the yardstick is the written scope description. No payment runs until acceptance. That is exactly what the document exists for.
What happens if we realise in the workshop that it is not a fit?
Then we say so — and you have gained a free, thorough analysis of your process. There is no obligation of any kind up to the signing of the contract.
Can we start with a small part?
We even recommend it. The first version deliberately covers the core process; further areas follow on the basis of real use. A narrow first scope means a lower entry price and a faster first result.
Do we have to work with two systems in parallel during the changeover?
That depends on your situation — there are different transition models. Possible options are a hard cut-over date on which everyone moves to the new system, parallel operation of both systems over a longer period, or a step-by-step rollout, for example starting with a pilot group or a single sub-process. Which model fits is something we decide together before the start.
Who develops the software — and who looks after us afterwards?
Attek Solutions develops and operates the software itself; there is no handover from a project team to a support provider. The people who built your system are also the ones who develop it further.
What should we prepare before the intro call?
Nothing — apart from a concrete example of a case that causes trouble today. Having the spreadsheet or the tool for it at hand makes the conversation twice as productive.
The first step costs 30 minutes and nothing else.
Book an intro call and get an honest assessment of your situation.
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Jan Klädtke
Managing Director, Attek Solutions GmbH