General questions

Do you engage third-parties?

Hygge Software provides a full-cycle development process, from research and business analysis to development and ongoing support. We never outsource any part of our work. 

Is it essential to have a dedicated project manager? 

Yes, it is essential. Our developers concentrate on coding, while the project manager handles the communication and paperwork. The project manager is always in touch with a customer and ready to answer any questions. 

What information do we need from the customer to start the work? 

Any project starts with the software requirements specifications (SRS). The more detailed your specifications are, the more the product will fit your requirements in the end.

Therefore, we expect you to submit:

• the full and concise SRS
• software requirements what you have at the moment and we will make necessary amendments (advisory is free)
• in case you don’t have a SRS, but just a rough idea of the project or just a tech brief – we can create software requirements for you

What software or tools do I need during the process of development? 

The main tool that you will need is your email. This is the main point of contact that will be used during the whole work process and beyond. Also, it’s preferable to have a Skype/Whatsapp/Telegram account as well in order to rapidly resolve any short questions via calls or chat. That’s it. We will configure and supply everything else:

• Ticketing system for tasks assigning
• Calendar with milestones for tracking the progress
• GIT repository for storing app code
• QA reports

Development process

Do you ensure the operation of the 3rd party APIs?

Hygge is not in charge of the operation of the 3rd party APIs, their internal policies, and provided services (due to all 3d parties being external services obeying their API, policies, etc.).

How do you handle bugs?

Intermediate results (builds) may and would have bugs. This is normal in the middle of the development process, and all bugs will be fixed before the production release.

Where is the data stored?

Code storage, tasks tracking system account, hosting account should belong to the Customer and be accessible for the Hygge team.

What is the Client’s involvement in the project?

Communication from the Customer’s end is crucial. In case of the team getting blocked due to the absence of responses during a week the work can be stopped by informing the Customer in writing for the sake of avoiding wasting the Project budget. 

In case of the Customer’s vacation or any circumstances during which the communication is going to be paused, the Customer should inform the Hygge team about such circumstances in writing and confirm proceeding with the works.

Do you redistribute work among freelancers?

We never attract third-parties, freelancers or re-distribute work inside the team. Your assignments will be performed by a Hygge developer who was approved by you at the team setup stage of the project.  

We take full responsibility for the end product and are ready to provide the ongoing support of your project.  

Payments

How do you bill?

We use either time & material approach or fixed price.

What is the difference between hourly rate and fixed price?

Time & material approach implies the dynamic workload. The client will be billed based on the delivery and time spent by the dedicated team on the previously agreed scope. Fixed price model implies that the scope and app functionality is fixed before the start of the development and cannot be changed to respond to new business challenges you might face. 

When the fixed price model could not be applied?

The fixed price development cannot be used in the cases, such as:

• The app has a very specific functionality that cannot be measured and estimated by the developer. For example, when the usage of private API’s is required;
• The app was written by another developer(s) & support of the app is required. In such cases, developers cannot estimate the time required to implement modifications, as they cannot guarantee the operability of another code.

When will the upfront payments be applied?

Upfront payments is a must in case of design + wireframing phases implying they last no longer than 60-80 hours for the MVPs. The development built is charged by pay per milestones basis. 

How can I pay for your services?

The primary payment option is making a SWIFT payment in USD or EUR. However, we can consider alternative payment options. We will issue the invoices on a biweekly / monthly basis.

Which financial guarantees do you provide?

Our clients get:

• a trial month so you could see the first result as well as understand if the dedicated team aligns your expectations or not. The client can send the stop message anytime during this period and no fees will be applied for the performed work.
• freeze of hourly rates for up to six months of our cooperation (seven months in total when counting the trial month). This period is tied to the performance review frequency established in our company. According to the individual professional development plan, each developer goes through a performance review process every six months. The rate reflects his growth and accomplishments, so might (but not necessarily) be increased.