01Most common
Project
Fixed scope, fixed timeline. We define a thing to build, we build it, we hand it over.
- 8–24 week engagements
- A small senior squad
- Fixed-fee or milestone-based
- Handover at or after launch
Best fit when
A clear thing to ship.
[ how the work moves ]
Two-week tracks.
Frequent releases.
How a Smartee engagement actually runs — the phases, who does the work, and what we ship at the end of each one. Written for the owner or founder who's been burned by an agency before.
[ principles ]
Six commitments we sign every engagement with.
/01
We listen before we architect
Your business has a shape ours doesn't. The first week is questions, not opinions.
/02
Working code, not documents
We don't write requirements documents the size of novels. A clickable prototype clarifies more than a wiki ever will.
/03
Stand behind every line
We name owners on commits. If something breaks in year two, the person who wrote it is one Slack away.
/04
No juniors on your bill
Every engagement is staffed with people who have shipped the thing twenty times. We train our own — on our own dime.
/05
Plain English, always
No "synergies," no "leverage," no "circle back." We say what we mean and write it down where you can find it.
/06
Roadmaps that survive contact
We commit to outcomes for a quarter, intentions for two, and don't pretend we know what year three looks like.
[ the four phases ]
Discover. Architect. Build. Scale.
Four phases, no big-bang waterfalls. Each phase ships something you can show your board — and we don't move on until you have.
01
Where we start
Discover
We listen first. Audit constraints, map dependencies, talk to the people who will live with what we ship.
What happens
- Stakeholder interviews — including the skeptics
- Constraint mapping — technical, commercial, and human
- A close look at your existing systems, and where the gaps are
- Success criteria you'll actually measure against
What you get
A one-page engagement brief everyone on both sides agrees on.
02
Before we build
Architect
Decide what to standardize and what to build custom. Working prototypes early — not slide decks.
What happens
- Reference architecture and integration map
- Working prototype of the riskiest path
- Build-vs-buy decisions, recorded and dated
- Roadmap with named owners on both sides
What you get
A prototype you can click through, an architecture diagram you can defend.
03
Two-week tracks
Build
Two-week tracks, frequent releases you can watch land. Engineering, product and design in the same standup.
What happens
- Two-week sprints with end-of-track demos
- Frequent releases you can review before they go live
- The same senior people from start to finish — no hand-offs
- Weekly written notes (no status meetings)
What you get
A production system you and your team operate confidently.
04
After launch
Scale
Run it alongside your team until they're ready to own it. We hand over when it's stable — not a day before.
What happens
- On-call support after launch
- Runbook authoring and incident drills
- Capability transfer to your engineering team
- Quarterly architecture reviews on a retainer
What you get
A team that can run the thing without us — and us on call if they don't want to.
[ engagement models ]
Three ways to work with us.
Pick the model that matches the shape of your problem. Most engagements start as one and graduate to another.
02Most flexible
Embedded
A senior squad embeds with your engineering team. We work to your sprint cadence; you keep the steering wheel.
- Multi-month tracks
- Senior engineers and designers, embedded
- Time-and-materials
- Renewable quarterly
Best fit when
You need senior people, fast.
03Post-launch
Retainer
Ongoing operations, architecture reviews and small projects on a retained capacity. Used by teams we've shipped with.
- Monthly retainer
- Reserved hours, named team
- Architecture reviews quarterly
- Cancellable with 30 days notice
Best fit when
You've shipped — now you want a partner.
[ frequently asked ]
Questions we get on the first call.
How fast can we start?
We usually have capacity to begin a discovery phase within a few weeks of a signed letter of engagement.
Do you work fixed-fee or T&M?
Both. Fixed-fee for well-defined projects with a clear scope; time-and-materials for embedded engagements where the work shape evolves.
What time zones do you work across?
We are based in Slovenia (Central European Time), with on-call coverage across European business hours and reasonable overlap for US and Gulf clients.
Can you sign our MSA / NDA?
Yes. We're happy to work under your MSA or NDA and will redline where needed — usually about a week for legal turnaround.
Do you do staff augmentation?
Not as a primary mode. We send senior squads — engineer, designer, PM — not individuals. Squads can plug into your sprint cadence.
What happens when the project ends?
We hand over a runbook, host two debrief sessions, and stay on call for 90 days at no extra charge. Many clients renew into a retainer for ongoing work.
[ ready when you are ]
Got a project that fits one of these shapes?
Send the brief. We'll reply with a phase-one plan and a calendar link within a business day.