Project Rescue: What Happens Next

At the heart of all rescue projects, is the client’s desire to stop history repeating itself. This article is designed to troubleshoot the most common conversations we have when taking on a project that has already been started elsewhere.

Previously, our project ran over budget and took longer than expected, how can we mitigate this at Bad Dino?

Process, process, process. It’s at the heart of everything we do. We have developed our own client-facing portal, Comet, which gives clients full visibility of project progress, development sprint plans & milestones, and areas to provide instant feedback on test releases. We have frequent co-design meetings with clients to assess progress, and course correct if needs be. Using these tools and following this process means there are no nasty surprises, and gives our clients control over the scope of work.  

The end-product wasn’t at all what we imagined, how do we ensure we’re aligned this time?

Again, process! We have clear stages in the development lifecycle when clients are required to sign off on scope, interface design, and upcoming sprints. We provide you with a staging environment for you to test your product and interact with work done to date. There is no grand reveal at the end of the process, you are involved and guided throughout by our team. If you need to pivot or revisit designing a feature, our process provides that flexibility. 

If I need to urgently reach my team, how do I do it?

Our agency is small, but mighty. You will be on regular calls and on first name terms with all of your team, and given the tools to contact them directly. At Bad Dino you won’t be passed around a sea of developers with scant knowledge of your product, rather you’ll be in close contact with the tight-knit team building your app. You will be appointed a Project Manager who oversees the full development cycle and is responsible for client comms, so you should never feel out of the loop.

Can you finish off the project that another developer started? 

The short answer is, maybe. Whether or not we can help depends on if your app has been developed in a tech stack we can build upon, and if not, if you are willing to start over again. Either way, we would need to enter into a degree of planning and strategy work with you to create a development road map that our team can work from. The good news though, is that we have successfully executed dozens of rescue projects over the years, and relish the challenges they bring. It all starts with a coffee and a chat - so get in touch, even if you just need some advice for now. 

What if we decide to move to another developer, or pull the project in-house - what then?

The beauty of working with our agency is that all code is peer reviewed, consistent and follows best practice. Also, because we develop in widely adopted Microsoft technologies, our solutions are easy to understand, maintain, and transfer to other teams. We deliberately avoid “flavour of the week” frameworks or obscure tools that lock clients in or slow down hiring. The result is software that’s practical, future-proof, and supported by a huge, familiar ecosystem. It is considered a success when our clients grow to a stage where they can hire in their own development talent to maintain a product, and we are very experienced in helping with this transition. In some cases we have even assisted with the hiring process for clients - we really are here to help!