Financial cooperation and how to approach the client should be determined on an individual basis. Flexibility in everything and transparency during the development process is one of the rules Appus abides by. There are no identical clients, and there are no identical projects, so there are no uniform solutions. Each of our clients is unique; each of them has different needs and requires a different degree of control. That is why we offer our clients several models of cooperation. We interact with customers on an hourly rate, fixed price, or outsourcing basis.

 

Fixed Price Engagement Model

 

 

This model is used most often by our customers. About 70% of our projects were implemented using this particular model of cooperation. With a fixed price model, conditionally called ‘product management’, the project completion time and cost are negotiated when the contract is signed and Appus guarantees that you will receive a high-quality product at the end of the project. With the fixed price model, emphasis is placed on the final product rather than on the aggregate of services that were provided within this project.

The advantages and disadvantages to this model you can find here. A fixed price model assumes that you know approximately how much it will cost you to develop a project and how long it will take. There are no price changes! You will not have the option to change your requirements or make any additions. Otherwise, you will go beyond your budget, and the project duration will increase accordingly. This model is ideal when the customer knows the exact volume of his project, has detailed documentation, and the prepared UI design, terms, and budget are confirmed by our experts. Unfortunately, this amount of preparedness rarely happens, but in other cases this model is used successfully. We will simply suggest starting on the creation of a wireframe that will serve as the basis for further work, and the timing and cost of the project will be evaluated. This service is conditionally free, and its cost will be further taken into account as a discount for the project.

 

What do we do within the fixed price model?

  • We request requirements, analyze them, create a product wireframe, and compose documentation.
  • We take full responsibility for every aspect and stage of the project.
  • The Appus team carefully considers the development strategy.
  • All the necessary specialists will work on the development of your product: developers, designers, a project manager, and QA testers.
  • We assume all financial risks with strict adherence to the requirements and specifications that are drawn up and agreed upon by the parties to the project prior to the commencement of development.
  • We specify in advance how much work is needed to build a particular product.
  • The cost of the project will not change (unless the client makes additions and/or changes to the project after the contract is signed).
  • Before each iteration, we will agree on the specific volume.
  • Appus guarantees delivery at the end of each iteration.
  • We guarantee that you will receive a well-thought-out, tested, and high-quality product within the agreed upon time period and within the agreed upon budget.
  • We provide a warranty service for the product for up to 12 months.

 

What do you get using the fixed price model?

  • You will get an accurately stipulated budget and accurate terms of the project.
  • We will guarantee that the agreed upon contract parameters will not change (unless you yourself want to make any changes to the requirements).
  • You will receive concrete services for a specific task, regardless of whether you need to develop a project from scratch, implement additional functions, or update or modify an existing project.
  • You will get a clear project implementation schedule.
  • You will have control over implementation through our own management system.
  • You will have a personal project manager.
  • You will receive a service warranty for up to 12 months.

 

Hourly Rate or Time & Material Engagement Model

 

 

This is also a fairly common model, and it is the most flexible scheme of cooperation. According to this model, the client manages the services. What does this mean? It's simple. You get the volume of services that you need. It can be building a project from scratch, finalizing an existing product, or providing independent services, for example only design or just development.

More detailed information on the advantages and disadvantages can be found in this article.

This way you pay for the result obtained based on the time spent on it. The estimated value is not the number of services but rather man hours.

 

What do we do within an hourly rate model?

  • We analyze your requirements and then draw up project documentation with a detailed description of requirements.
  • We cooperate with you for several of the phases. These can be two-week or four-week intervals at the request of the client or according to technical needs. Goals and objectives are determined at the beginning of each stage.
  • We use an iterative approach, or a plan–do–check–act cycle. This is the execution of work with a parallel analysis of results and adjustment of the previous steps. We determine the length of the iteration and project milestones, and at the end of each, we guarantee that we will provide a specific and previously stated result.
  • Your project is supported by all the necessary specialists (within the requirements) in the team with the project manager and tester.
  • We will give you the opportunity to control the development process and interact with the team through our own management system.

 

What do you get with the hourly rate model?

  • You will get a requirements analysis.
  • You will have flexibility. You will have the opportunity to consistently make changes to the project while optimizing your time and costs.
  • You will get scalability.
  • You will have a guaranteed provision of cuts after each phase.
  • You will have a personal project manager.

 

Outsourcing or Dedicated Team Model

 

 

This model of cooperation is very specific. It is convenient for customers who want to strengthen or expand their team with the help of certain specialists. It is suitable for team leaders or for technical specialists who themselves manage the development process and have their own teams but need additional specialists with specific skills or a specific specialization and experience to solve specific problems. Thus, the specialists of the Appus team become your employees for a certain period of time. The terms of cooperation and requirements for a specialist are determined by the client and fixed in the contract.

 

What do we do within the dedicated team model?

  • We provide you with a specialist or team that best suits your requirements and which you can choose after the interview.
  • Our specialists follow your approaches to the work, culture, and principles of your team.
  • Our specialists are fully involved in your project and are focused on it.
  • We control the quality of work of our specialists as well as their mobilization.

 

What do you get within the dedicated team model?

  • You will get speedy completion of your project.
  • You will independently form the requirements for the team and the number of specialists.
  • You will have an ideal team with the experience and skills you need.
  • You will get cost savings as it is more profitable to hire professionals for a short period of time than to create jobs, look for specialists, and equip jobs for the implementation of one project.
  • You will pay for the work of only those employees that you need.
  • You will manage the project with our team or specialists, using your own management personnel.
  • You will have full control of the selected command and determination of the load on it.

 

What Model of Cooperation with an App Development Company Is Optimal?

 

 

The choice of model depends on your needs and your project. Conditionally, we can determine the main parameters or conditions under which the choice of any model is obvious, but sometimes it is possible to use several options for cooperation to receive an optimal result. Thus, when making a decision, one should rely on three main components of the project: budget, time, and final results.

Fixed price

is the optimal model if:
  • Your project is small- or medium-sized or you are planning a short-term cooperation only.
  • Your project is large but you need to know the approximate time frame of the project, for example, in order to start an advertising campaign.
  • You clearly know what the goals and functions should be for the product and do not plan to change the requirements.
  • You expect a specific result from the product.
  • You have a limited budget and limited time.
  • You plan to work with a new outsourcing team and this is your pilot project.
  • You plan to create an MVP.

 

Hourly rate

is the optimal model if:
  • Your project is either medium or large.
  • You already have a product but it is of questionable quality and you need to test it and adjust the code.
  • You are not limited by any terms of the project.
  • You do not have a strictly limited budget.
  • You do not have a clearly defined or limited size and scope of the project.
  • You do not have clearly defined project specifications or an implementation plan.
  • There is a high probability that requirements will change during development.
  • Your project is aimed at a rapidly changing market and uses advanced technologies.
  • You expect full involvement in the project and monitoring of each project cycle.
  • You plan to participate in determining the size of the team.
  • You are focused on long-term cooperation.
  • There will be subsequent iterations of the profit center.

 

Dedicated team

is the optimal model if:

 
  • You have a long-term project.
  • You have your own team and usually have the resources to create a product but this is not enough in a particular case.
  • Your team needs the help of qualified and highly specialized specialists.
  • The plan for the development of your project involves the mobilization of additional resources and the use of new technologies.
  • Your project is in constant development and the original goals can change as well as the requirements and priorities.

Good luck with your project!