The app development process behind $1.5B+ in client revenue.

Every app we build follows the same proven app development process - one free discovery conversation, then three delivery phases. It is the app development methodology behind 100+ shipped apps and $1.5B+ in client revenue, refined over more than a decade. Here is exactly how it works.

  • ✓We design and cost the entire build before any code is written
  • ✓Every decision is documented, never trapped in one person's head
  • ✓A full team on every project, not one lone developer
  • ✓No vendor lock-in - your product, code and IP are always yours
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5Disciplines on every squad
100%Code & IP owned by you
98%First-time store approval
100+Apps shipped, one process

One conversation. Three phases. Built to grow.

The same canonical PixelForce engagement model behind 100+ shipped products and $1.5B+ in combined client revenue, applied to your app. The 1-3-1 method runs through every conversation - one problem, three options with honest trade-offs across budget, timeline and scope, one recommendation. No Blueprint, no Build.

  1. ★
    Free

    Discovery call

    A free, no-obligation conversation to find the right path for your app before you commit a dollar.

    • Mutual NDA signed up front
    • 1-3-1 method: one problem, three options, one recommendation
    • Honest trade-offs across budget, timeline and scope
    • A straight answer on what a credible build looks like
  2. 1
    4-8 weeks

    Scoping & design

    Everything you need to build with total confidence - a fully costed, designed plan with no scope surprises.

    • Strategic workshops and BRD
    • Full UX/UI design system, every screen built
    • PRD and a fixed-cost Statement of Work
    • No Blueprint, no Build - Phase 1 before any Phase 2 quote
  3. 2
    3-6 months

    Development, QA & release

    From approved designs to your live app, built and tested at a steady sprint cadence.

    • Sprint cadence with regular demos
    • QA across iOS, Android and the edge cases
    • End-to-end App Store and Google Play submission
    • Built to scale from 1,000 to 1,000,000 users
  4. 3
    Ongoing

    Post-launch support

    We do not disappear at launch - monitoring, warranty, and an optional retainer keep your app growing.

    • 24/7 monitoring and a critical-defect warranty
    • Ongoing technical support
    • Optional Product Retainer: four-week sprints and quarterly reviews
    • The model that grew SWEAT to a $400M platform
Initial discovery call - the first stage of the app development process

Initial - a free discovery call

Free · before any commitment

Our app development process always starts the same way - with a conversation, not a contract. We sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement first, so you can speak openly, then we listen: to the business, the problem, the people you are building for, and where you want to take it.

The most important thing we talk about is budget. It is much like briefing an architect to design a home - share the budget early and they design something you can actually build; leave it out and you fall in love with plans you could never afford. Almost no project has unlimited money, so we set a realistic ceiling first and work backwards from there: what is genuinely worth building, in what order, and over what timeline. The design fits your reality from day one, and not a dollar or a week is spent on scope you were never going to fund.

You leave with a clear recommendation built on our 1-3-1 method: one problem, three honest options with their trade-offs across budget, timeline and scope, and one we would back ourselves. If the budget will not stretch to a credible build, we tell you - declining a project is a valid outcome.

What the discovery call gives you

  • A signed mutual NDA before anything is discussed
  • An honest conversation about budget, timeline and what is realistic
  • A scope reverse-engineered to fit your budget, not the other way around
  • The 1-3-1 recommendation: one problem, three options, one clear path
  • A clear next step - what Phase 1 costs and what it delivers
App development consultation
Phase 1 scoping and design - the blueprint stage of app development

Phase 1 - scoping & design

4 to 8 weeks · typically $35,000-$65,000

This stage of the app development lifecycle is where an idea becomes a development-ready blueprint - and the one that protects everything after it. We have a golden rule: No Blueprint, no Build. We never issue a development quote until Phase 1 is complete, because building without a plan is how budgets blow out and timelines slip.

Over four to eight weeks we run two focused strategic workshops to lock priorities and trade-offs, then produce four things you own outright. A Business Requirements Document (BRD) captures the goals, users and outcomes the product must achieve - the lens for every later decision. A complete UX/UI design system and high-fidelity designs cover every customer screen and the admin screens you will need to run the business. A Product Requirements Document (PRD) is the technical blueprint: feature logic, integrations and technology choices. Finally, a fixed-cost, fixed-scope Statement of Work (SoW) sets out exactly what Phase 2 builds, for exactly what price - no surprises.

What you own at the end of Phase 1

  • Two strategic workshops to lock scope, priorities and trade-offs
  • A Business Requirements Document (BRD) - goals, users and outcomes
  • A full UX/UI design system, with every screen designed and ready to build
  • A Product Requirements Document (PRD) - the technical blueprint
  • A fixed-cost, fixed-scope Statement of Work (SoW) for the build
Prototype & product requirements
Phase 2 development, QA and release - the build stage of app development

Phase 2 - development, QA & release

3 to 6 months · typically $100,000-$350,000

With the blueprint signed off, Phase 2 is where designs become a working, tested product. This is the build stage most people picture when they think about the mobile app development process - but with us it runs to a plan, not a guess. We build against the fixed-scope Statement of Work in two-week sprints, with a demo at the end of each one. These demos are deliberately honest: you are seeing work in progress, not a finished launch, so early sprints can look raw and unpolished. That is the point - you watch the product take shape and steer it as it goes, instead of waiting for one big reveal at the end. We build across the platforms your users are on - web, iOS and Android - on a backend designed to scale from one thousand users to one million.

Quality is engineered in, not bolted on. Dedicated QA engineers test every feature across devices, operating systems and edge cases, backed by automated regression testing and a rigorous 127-point pre-launch checklist covering functionality, integrations, security and compliance. The build follows a clear milestone sequence - foundation, backend, app build and integration, internal testing, then your own User Acceptance Testing (UAT) - so progress is always visible and verifiable.

When you sign off after UAT, we handle end-to-end submission to the Apple App Store and Google Play, configure production infrastructure and monitoring, and take you live. Phase 2 typically runs three to six months at $100,000 to $350,000, depending on what you are building - a web app or mobile app, and whether it is B2C, B2B or a multi-sided platform. The figure is set by the scope agreed in Phase 1, not by the kind of app you have in mind.

What Phase 2 delivers

  • Two-week sprints with an honest work-in-progress demo each cycle
  • Built across the platforms your users are on - web, iOS and Android
  • Dedicated QA across devices, operating systems and edge cases
  • A clear milestone sequence ending in your own UAT sign-off
  • End-to-end App Store and Google Play submission, then go-live
Development & testing process App & web tech stack
Phase 3 post-launch support - keeping a live app secure and improving

Phase 3 - post-launch support

Ongoing · retainers from $10,000 per 4-week cycle

Launch is the start, not the finish line. New iOS and Android versions land every year, users expect more, competitors move, and your business grows - an app that stands still quietly falls behind. Phase 3 keeps your product secure, reliable and improving long after go-live. It also closes the loop on the data your live product generates every day: who is using it, what is working, where people drop off, and what to build next. There are two ways to engage, plus an optional data service - and the right one depends on whether you mainly need protection, active product growth, or sharper insight into your numbers. This is the same model behind our longest client partnerships, some running seven years and more, from a first release to a market-leading platform.

Your options after launch

  • Option 1 - Warranty, Monitoring & Support: critical-bug warranty, 24/7 monitoring, business-hours incident response and a monthly Platform Health Report
  • Option 2 - Product Retainer: everything in Option 1, plus a roadmap workshop, ongoing feature sprints and quarterly business reviews
  • Optional - Data Insights: turn live data into decisions, as a monthly DaaS subscription or a custom data asset you own outright
  • Priced per four-week cycle - from Steady ($10,000) to Momentum ($50,000), Enterprise on application
Ongoing app improvement Launch, data & analytics insights

A process with a proven track record.

The clearest proof of a process is what it produces over time. Run the same disciplined stages again and again and the results compound: 100+ products shipped, $1.5 billion and more in combined client revenue, and 99.99% crash-free reliability across the portfolio. That track record is not one lucky hit. We have partnered with founders from a first minimum viable product all the way to a major exit. We helped EzLicence grow into a two-sided marketplace with $100 million and more in facilitated bookings. We took Traininpink to number one in its category in Italy within a year. Several of these partnerships have run for seven years and longer - because the process never stops at launch. The products that endure are the ones that keep moving through Phase 3, and that is exactly how we are built to work alongside our clients.

100+Products shipped
$1.5B+Combined client revenue
7+ yrsLongest partnerships
99.99%Crash-free & uptime
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The same process, an engagement shaped around you.

The process never changes - but how we run it flexes to fit you. Most clients want certainty on a first build, so Phases 1 and 2 typically run Waterfall, with fixed scope, fixed cost and fixed timeline. Once you are live, retainers run Agile in sprints. The method follows your need for certainty and where you are in the journey.

Waterfall · for the build

For a brand-new product, certainty matters most - especially on a first engagement. So Phases 1 and 2 almost always run Waterfall: we plan in detail, fix the scope, the cost and the timeline upfront, and move through clear milestones with formal sign-offs. You know exactly what you are getting, for exactly what price, by exactly when. It is also simply the cleaner way to build something from scratch, where the goalposts are agreed before a line of code is written. This is the certainty most founders and boards need to commit.

  • Fixed scope, fixed cost, fixed timeline
  • Used for Phase 1 and Phase 2 - the design and the build
  • Detailed planning, clear milestones, formal sign-offs
  • The certainty most clients want on a first engagement

Agile · for growth after launch

Once your product is live, improvement never stops - so retainers always run Agile, in two-week sprints. We work from a prioritised roadmap, ship features continuously, and adjust to what real users do rather than a plan written months ago. You get momentum and flexibility within a committed sprint capacity, which is exactly what a growing product needs. If you do not want a retainer, you can still engage us project-by-project for a specific piece of work - delivered Waterfall, with the same fixed-scope certainty as a build.

  • Two-week sprints against a prioritised roadmap
  • How every Phase 3 retainer runs
  • Continuous features and improvement once live
  • No retainer? Engage project-based instead, run Waterfall

Hybrid · the best of both

Plenty of clients run both at once. You might be on an Agile retainer for steady, ongoing improvement, but want a specific feature, integration or update delivered faster and outside the retainer for extra momentum. We run that as a fixed-scope Waterfall project alongside your sprints - certainty on the side project, flexibility on the everyday. It is a good example of the wider point: the process is the same for everyone, but the engagement is bespoke, shaped entirely around what your business needs right now.

  • An Agile retainer plus a fixed-scope side project
  • More output and momentum when you need it
  • Certainty on the project, flexibility on the retainer
  • Proof the engagement is shaped around you

Whichever way we run it, we work as a partner and an extension of your team. Where you have the people to deliver part of the work in-house - to a standard we agree upfront - we will gladly hand it over and help you save the cost.

Project management methodologies

App development process questions.

The questions founders, product leads and business owners ask most often before starting a build - how apps are built, how long the app development process takes, what it costs, the difference between Agile and Waterfall, and what happens after launch. Straight answers, drawn from more than a decade and 100+ shipped products.

Our software development process moves every app through the same four stages. It starts with a free discovery call to agree the approach and the budget. Phase 1 - Scoping & Design turns the idea into a development-ready blueprint: a Business Requirements Document, a full UX/UI design, a Product Requirements Document and a fixed-cost Statement of Work. Phase 2 - Development, QA & Release builds, tests and launches the product across web, iOS and Android. Phase 3 - Post Launch Support keeps it secure and improving once live. The structure never changes; the detail is tailored to your project.
It depends on scope, but a typical timeline runs Phase 1 - Scoping & Design over four to eight weeks, then Phase 2 - Development, QA & Release over three to six months depending on complexity. The free discovery call happens before any of this and takes a single conversation. Phase 3 - Post Launch Support is ongoing for as long as you want to keep improving the product. You receive a realistic schedule with clear milestones in Phase 1, before any build begins.
Honestly, asking what an app costs is a little like asking how long a piece of string is - it comes down to your budget, scope and timeline. That is exactly why we set the budget first and run Scoping & Design before anything else. Phase 1 - Scoping & Design is typically $35,000 to $65,000, taken standalone or rolled into a full project. Phase 2 - Development, QA & Release typically runs $100,000 to $350,000, depending on what you are building - a web app or mobile app, and whether it is B2C, B2B or a multi-sided platform. That range is a recommendation, not a ceiling - if your budget stretches further, we still suggest keeping the first version to around $300,000 to $350,000 and putting the rest into iteration after launch, because the strongest improvements come from real user feedback once the product is live, not from guesswork up front. That is exactly what Phase 3 is for: a product retainer where we work in two-week or four-week sprints on what your users actually need. Retainers are priced per four-week cycle, from Steady at $10,000 to Momentum at $50,000, with Enterprise on application. The figure is never fixed by the kind of app you want - it is shaped by the scope we agree, which is why Phase 1 designs something that fits your budget rather than a dream you cannot afford to build. You always receive a fixed-cost Statement of Work before any development starts.
There are four app development stages: an Initial discovery call (free, where we agree the approach and budget), Phase 1 - Scoping & Design (the blueprint), Phase 2 - Development, QA & Release (the build, test and launch), and Phase 3 - Post Launch Support (keeping it reliable and improving once live). Each stage has clear deliverables you own, and Phase 1 always comes before any development - No Blueprint, no Build.
Both, depending on where you are. A first build usually runs Waterfall through Phases 1 and 2, because clients want certainty - fixed scope, fixed cost and fixed timeline. Once you are live, retainers run Agile in two-week sprints for continuous improvement. Some clients run a hybrid: an Agile retainer with a fixed-scope Waterfall side project alongside it. The process is the same; the method follows your need for certainty.
Launch is the start, not the finish. Phase 3 - Post Launch Support keeps your product secure, monitored and improving. You can choose Option 1 - Warranty, Monitoring & Support for protection, or Option 2 - Product Retainer for continuous feature development, with optional Data Insights to turn your live data into decisions. New operating-system versions, security updates and user expectations never stop, so neither does good support.
Because building without a plan is how budgets blow out and timelines slip. Phase 1 produces a complete design, a clear technical specification and a fixed-cost Statement of Work, so Phase 2 builds against an agreed blueprint rather than a guess. It is the single biggest reason our builds stay on scope and on budget - and why we never issue a development quote until Phase 1 is complete. We call it our golden rule: No Blueprint, no Build.
Yes. We work as an extension of your team, so if you have the people and skills to deliver part of the work in-house - design, content, testing or development - we define the standard upfront and hand that portion over. Done to the agreed standard, it lowers your cost without compromising the result. The engagement is bespoke to what your business can resource.

Ready to start your app development process? It begins with a free call.

Every project starts the same way - one free, no-obligation discovery call. We will sign an NDA, talk through your idea and your budget, and give you a clear, honest recommendation using our 1-3-1 method: one problem, three options, one path forward. No pressure, no jargon, and no quote until we both know it is the right thing to build. Whether you are at idea stage or rescuing an existing product, this is where it begins.

Book a free consultation See our work
  • 100+ products shipped · $1.5B+ in client revenue
  • 99.99% crash-free and uptime across the portfolio
  • 100% in-house team
  • Free discovery call · no quote until Phase 1