Insights
Notes from the people doing the work.
When we publish, it is because we have something specific and true to say: a decision we made, a trade-off we learned, a problem we solved. Grounded in the systems we actually build and operate.
41 articles
What Is an Offshore Development Center (ODC)?
An ODC is a dedicated team in another country that works only for you, for years. How it differs from outsourcing, how to set one up and govern it, and when it is the wrong model.
Shah Fahad· 10 min read
Outsourcing of Software Development: A Buyer's Guide
What to outsource and what to keep, which engagement model fits, how to vet a partner, what the contract must say, and how to run an outsourced team week to week.
Shah Fahad· 10 min read
Quality Assurance Outsourcing: An Honest Guide
QA outsourcing can give you specialist testers and spare capacity, or a wall that finished code gets thrown over. What to outsource, what to keep, and how to set it up.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
Software Unit Testing: What It Is and What It Misses
A unit test checks one small piece of code in isolation. A plain guide to what unit tests are, what good ones look like, and the failures they cannot catch.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
How to outsource mobile app development and stay in control
Outsourcing an app works when you can describe it, decide quickly and keep the store accounts, signing keys and source code in your own name. Here is how to set that up.
Shah Fahad· 10 min read
App store optimization: what Apple and Google document
ASO is the work of getting an app found in store search and installed once it is found. This guide sticks to the inputs Apple and Google publicly describe, and what your developers control.
Shah Fahad· 10 min read
Fintech Development Outsourcing: What to Keep In-House
You can outsource the building of a fintech product, but not the accountability for it. What to hand over, what to keep, and how to control data, access and exit.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
Cloud Security for Financial Services: What Matters
The provider secures the platform; you secure everything you configure on it. The controls that matter for financial firms in the cloud, in the order I would fix them.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
What CI/CD Means, and How a Pipeline Works
CI and CD are the habits and the automation that carry a code change from a developer to production safely. What each term means, and what a pipeline does at every stage.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
Vertical vs Horizontal Scaling: How to Choose
Scaling up means a bigger machine. Scaling out means more machines. What each one costs, where each one stops working, and why the database decides most of it.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
White Box vs Black Box Testing: What Each One Finds
Black box testing checks behaviour from the outside. White box testing designs tests from the code. Here is how they differ, where grey box fits, and which to use when.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
Difference Between Verification and Validation, Explained
Verification checks that you built the product right. Validation checks that you built the right product. Here is what each involves, and how a small team can do both.
Shah Fahad· 9 min read
Tell us what cannot fail.
A technical conversation with the engineers who would do the work. If we are not the right fit, we will say so on the call.
- 01A senior engineer reads it. Not a form queue, and not an account manager.
- 02We reply either with questions or with a straight answer that we are not the right fit.
- 03If it looks like a fit, a technical call with the person who would actually run the delivery.
- 04Then scope, effort and risk in writing, before anyone signs anything.