Collaboration models
Fixed-budget project
The budget is set, the goal comes into focus along the way.
Our job is to bring home the most value within that constraint, choosing what to simplify and what to leave out. It takes experience, because you have to know which details can be set aside without compromising the result. Every project ends with a complete, usable result, even if you decide not to continue.
There are situations where the budget is defined, time is short and the goal cannot be fully described from the start. It happens with first versions, working prototypes, product explorations, work on performance or on technical debt. Promising a closed list of features in these cases leads to fragile choices.
The result is something that works on its own and makes it easier to decide what to do next. The budget is spent deliberately, without polishing the wrong directions.
- When it makes sense
- First versions, working prototypes, technical debt reduction, performance work.
- What we guarantee
- Staying within the constraint, and a complete result you can use even without continuing.
- What we need from you
- A willingness to choose: within a fixed budget, saying yes to everything means getting little.
- How it is measured
- Value delivered for the same budget.
When to use it
When you have a defined budget and timeframe but cannot, or should not, define everything up front. It suits first versions, prototypes and explorations, where the goal is to get the most value and find out quickly what really works.
When to avoid it
When you expect completeness or full feature coverage. If the requirement is to do everything, this model is not for you: it calls for choices and trade-offs. If you are not willing to cut, you are using the wrong model.
Not sure it is the right model for you?
The guidance survey takes three minutes, brings your situation into focus and points to the way of working that makes most sense right now. Or you can talk to an engineer to work out where to begin.