Blog How we work with you on projects

We've tried a lot of ways to run projects over the years. What we've settled on comes down to a few things: keep everyone in the loop, write things down, and don't waste people's time. Here's how it works in practice.

Getting started

Before we write any code, we spend time understanding what you're actually trying to accomplish. Not just "build a website" or "make an app," but the business problem behind it. Who are your users? What does success look like? What's been tried before? This upfront conversation saves us from building the wrong thing.

Everything lives in Basecamp

We use Basecamp for all project communication. Everyone on the project gets access: your team, our team, whoever needs to be in the loop. Files, discussions, to-do lists, updates; it's all in one place.

The big win here is no more digging through email threads to find that one decision from three weeks ago. If it happened on the project, it's in Basecamp. You can check in anytime and see exactly where things stand.

Weekly check-ins (when they make sense)

For bigger projects, we'll hop on a weekly call to show what we've built, talk through what's coming up, and make decisions together. We keep these focused and try not to let them run long. For smaller projects, we skip them and handle everything asynchronously in Basecamp.

We record every call. If someone can't make it, they can watch it later. We also post a summary in Basecamp with the key decisions and action items, so nobody has to scrub through a 30-minute video for the one thing they need.

Writing first, meetings second

When a tricky problem comes up, our first instinct isn't to jump on a call. We write it up. What's the problem, what are the options, what do we recommend. This gives everyone time to think it through instead of making snap decisions in a meeting.

It also means our developers get long, uninterrupted stretches to focus on the work. Fewer context switches, better code. When we do need to talk something through live, the conversation is better because everyone's already read the write-up and had time to form an opinion.