Engineering certainty

How we work

From the first call to the handover: what happens at each step, who decides what, and what you get. Managed projects or dedicated teams, 1–2 hours from CET, in English and German, with a demo every week.

Start a project

See our work

Organisations we've built for

From first call to handover

What happens, step by step

Every project runs through the same steps. Each one says what happens and what you get.

First reply

An engineering lead replies within one working day of your message.

Intro call

30 minutes about your goals, constraints and data. We sign an NDA first if you ask.

Proposal

Within 3 working days of the call, in writing: the scope, team, timeline, cost model and risks.

Contracts

A services agreement, a statement of work for the project, and a data processing agreement wherever personal data is involved.

Kickoff

A risk register, a data plan and a list of what we won't do, agreed before any code.

Thin slice

One part of the system working end to end, early. From then on, a demo every week and access to the repository.

Launch and handover

Documentation, a delivery pipeline and a handover, so your team can run and change the system.

Support

If you want us to keep running it, support hours and response times are agreed in writing.

Project end

We remove our access, and your data is returned or deleted, your choice, confirmed in writing.

Two ways to work together

A managed project or a dedicated team

You choose who owns the delivery. Both run on the same steps, with our team lead running the team.

Managed project

We take ownership of delivery: the plan, the team and the results, against a scope agreed with you. Priced as a fixed scope or as time and materials.

Dedicated team

Your product owner sets the goals and the order of the backlog, and our team lead plans the work and runs the team. One monthly rate for the team.

The same standards in both

A plan before any code, a thin slice early, a demo every week and a handover your team can run.

The cost model in writing

The proposal sets out the cost model, the team and the timeline before anything is signed. We don't publish prices, because every scope is different.

Every project includes

A team lead from our side

A demo every week

Access to the repository from day one

An NDA for every engineer, on request

Working together

A working day that overlaps yours

Close in time, clear in language, and inside the tools you already use.

Time zone

Addis Ababa is 2 hours ahead of CET in winter and 1 hour in summer.

Most of the working day overlaps yours, so questions get answered the same day.

Language

Every project team works in English and German.

Calls, tickets and documentation in English, or in German where you prefer it.

Your tools

We work in your repositories, ticket system and chat.

The accounts are marked as FlightLabs accounts and removed when the work ends.

Every week

A demo of working software, every week.

Plus pull requests and deploy notes you can follow between demos.

Roles

Who decides what

In both models, you decide what gets built and in which order. Our team lead decides who does it and how.

Your side.

Sets the goals and priorities, joins planning and demos, and accepts the results.

Our team lead.

Plans and assigns the work, runs the team and takes in requests from your staff. Responsible for quality and delivery.

Key people, agreed.

You meet the key people before the work starts. Nobody is swapped without your approval.

Code and contracts

The code is yours to use, and the contract is clear

How rights of use, repositories and contracts work with us, in plain words.

Yours to use, change and license.

The code we write for you is yours to use, change and license: exclusive, unlimited rights, with the source in your repository from day one.

Platforms and open source, named.

If we start from one of our platforms, the platform core is licensed to you. Open-source parts keep their own licences, and we list them.

A contract under German law.

A services agreement with FlightLabs in Berlin, a statement of work for each project, and a data processing agreement where personal data is involved.

How we protect your data

FAQ

Questions about how we work

In steps you can follow: a first call, a written proposal, a signed contract, a plan, a first working slice, then a demo every week until the handover. You see the risk register, the code and the progress throughout.

Early. The first thin slice is the first piece of work after kickoff, and the proposal says when it's due. From then on, there's a demo every week.

Our team lead. They plan the work, run the team, join every demo and take in your requests. The engineering lead from the first call stays involved.

Yes: your repositories, ticket system and chat. The accounts are marked as FlightLabs accounts, and they're removed when the work ends.

You see it early, because the risk register is reviewed with you and every demo shows what's done. If the plan has to change, we agree the change with you in writing before the work continues.

In writing, before the work changes. We show what the change does to the timeline and the cost, you decide, and it goes into the statement of work. On time and materials, you steer the budget week by week.

Yes. A managed project can be followed by a dedicated team, or the other way round. Each stage gets its own statement of work.

The code, the documentation and a handover your team can run. We remove our access, and your data is returned or deleted, as you choose, confirmed in writing.