Engineering
The Benefits of Third-Party Software Developers
Third-party software development lets businesses use the expertise of skilled developers without in-house hiring.
July 16, 2024
Read →// SIMPLICITY BY DESIGN
We build software
that is simple to maintain|
TechTonic Labs is a software company based in Centurion. We build software for our clients, and we place our engineers in client teams.
// TECHTONIC LABS
Build something new with us
We design, build and support apps, websites and bespoke software, and we look after the hosting, releases and DevOps for what we build. Each project begins with a Discovery Week, which ends with an agreed scope and an estimate, together with either a clickable prototype or a written report of our findings and proposals.
See what Labs builds// TECHTONIC LABS CONSULTING
Strengthen your existing team
Our engineers join your team and work within your process across the full software lifecycle. Alongside the work they deliver, they help improve the practices your team relies on.
See how Consulting works// B-BBEE
A Level 1 B-BBEE contributor
TechTonic Labs is a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor. For South African clients, this gives 135% procurement recognition on your B-BBEE scorecard for the work you place with us, whether that is a software build or engineers working in your team. A copy of our certificate is available on request.
// HOW WE WORK
How we work, from the first conversation to live software
Labs and Consulting are staffed by the same people and held to the same standards.
Discover
We work out what you want and what you actually need, and agree with you what success looks like.
Most projects begin with a Discovery Week. During that week we look at how the work is done today, who will use the software and what it has to do on the day it launches, and we agree which features can wait for a later version, which is often where the largest savings are found. At the end of the week you have an agreed scope and an estimate, together with either a clickable prototype or a written report of our findings and proposals, depending on what the project needs, and these remain yours whether or not you continue with us.
With you
A Discovery Week with one of our senior engineers and a member of our leadership, with your account manager overseeing the project from the start.
Discover
We work out what you want and what you actually need, and agree with you what success looks like.
Most projects begin with a Discovery Week. During that week we look at how the work is done today, who will use the software and what it has to do on the day it launches, and we agree which features can wait for a later version, which is often where the largest savings are found. At the end of the week you have an agreed scope and an estimate, together with either a clickable prototype or a written report of our findings and proposals, depending on what the project needs, and these remain yours whether or not you continue with us.
Shape your projectWith you
A Discovery Week with one of our senior engineers and a member of our leadership, with your account manager overseeing the project from the start.
Design
We work through the screens, the flows between them and the technical approach before any code is written.
The prototype or the proposals from Discovery Week become a complete design that you can use on your phone and show to the people who will rely on the system, so that changes are made while they are still inexpensive. At the same time an architect settles the technical approach, including how the software will be hosted and how it will connect to the systems you already use.
With you
Your project manager joins you from this stage, together with our designer and an architect.
Build
We build the software in short cycles, and you can see and try the work as it progresses.
We work in an agile way, in short cycles that each end with working software you can use. Your project manager gives you regular, timeous updates on progress. New features that come up during the build are assessed with you and planned into the coming cycles, and because you see each feature as it takes shape, we can confirm that it is right and make any changes it needs at this stage, while they are still straightforward to make.
With you
Our engineers build in short cycles, and your project manager keeps you updated and plans any new features with you.
Test
We test each part of the software as it is completed, so that problems are found while the work is still fresh.
Manual testing covers the way people actually use the system, and automated tests run every time the code changes so that a fix in one place does not quietly break something elsewhere. We also give you a testing environment of your own, where you and your team can try everything for yourselves, and we prepare a release only once you have signed it off.
With you
Our QA engineers test every increment, and you test and sign off each release in your own testing environment.
Release
We plan each release with you and carry out the work involved, so that your part is to give your approvals and sign-offs.
Each release is agreed with you in advance: what is going out, when it will happen and how your users will be told. We prepare the release, put it live and check that everything works once it is live, while you give your consent and the approvals and sign-offs at the agreed points. Requests that change the agreed scope go through a simple change process, so that you can see the effect of each one before you approve it.
With you
Your project manager plans each release with you. We do the work, and you give the approvals and sign-offs.
Run and improve
Once the software is live, we keep it running well and help you plan what comes next.
We can host, monitor and support the software we build, so that the people who built it are also the people who look after it. We send you regular reports on how the system is performing in production, together with feedback on how it is being used, and we help you plan what comes next.
With you
We host and support what we build, report on how it performs, and help you plan what comes next.
How we grade our people
Every discipline has six levels, from L1, a graduate, to L6, a senior architect or the equivalent in that discipline. We do not set a level by years of experience. We assess people against the seven criteria below, and the assessment is the same whether someone builds software in Labs or works in your team through Consulting.
// WHAT SETS A LEVEL
We assess every person against the same seven criteria, rather than by the number of years they have worked.
- Thinking
- How someone approaches a problem they have not seen before: whether they ask the right questions, break it into sensible parts and weigh the options before committing to one. It shows in the quality of the decisions they make and in how clearly they can explain them.
- Talent
- The natural ability someone brings to their discipline, which we see in how quickly they learn and how well they apply what they have learnt. Two people with the same amount of experience can be at quite different levels, and talent is usually the reason.
- Environments run
- The systems and teams someone has actually been responsible for, from small internal tools to production platforms with many users. Having been accountable for something running well, rather than only contributing to it, changes the way a person works.
- Leadership
- Whether the people around someone become better at their work through reviewing, explaining and setting an example. We look for it at every level, not only in people whose title includes the word lead.
- Problem solving
- How someone gets from a problem to a working solution when the way forward is unclear, including how they find the cause of a fault under pressure. We look at the problems they have solved and at how they went about solving them.
- Attitude
- How someone responds to feedback, to setbacks and to work that is necessary but unremarkable, and whether they take ownership of the outcome. It is what makes a person dependable when a project is under strain.
- Culture
- How well someone fits the way we work, which is plainly, honestly and with respect for our clients and the people around us. We include it because a capable person who does not work well with others can hold a whole team back.
The levels in each discipline
Engineers who build and maintain your websites, mobile apps and the systems behind them, using the tools and process you already use, and who leave the codebase in better condition than they found it.
- L1Graduate engineerLearns quickly and delivers well-defined tasks with guidance and review.
- L2Junior engineerTakes small features from start to finish, with a senior engineer reviewing the work.
- L3Intermediate engineerWorks independently on features of normal complexity and handles production issues.
- L4Senior engineerDesigns solutions to difficult problems and raises the standard of the engineers around them.
- L5Lead engineerLeads a group of engineers, sets technical direction and is accountable for what the team delivers.
- L6Senior architectShapes systems across teams and is trusted with the decisions that are hardest to reverse.
We follow our Simplicity by Design principle, which lets us run a lean business. We operate on talent, trust and simple structures, which reduces costs for our clients.
// OUR WORK
The impact we are making
// INSIGHTS