A process you can hold us to.
The same four steps on every engagement, from the first conversation to running the system in production.
How we work
Discovery
We map the problem, the constraints and what success looks like in numbers.
→ Scope and fixed quote
Architecture
Data model, integrations, infrastructure and risks, reviewed with your team.
→ Technical design doc
Build
Regular demos on a staging environment. No surprises at the end.
→ Working software
Run
Deployment, hosting and management. Documentation and training if you'd rather take over.
→ Deploy, host, manage
01 Discovery
We start with the problem, not a feature list. We look at how the work is done today, what it costs, which systems are already in place and what has to stay. You get a written scope and a fixed quote for the next step.
02 Architecture
Before any feature work, we write down the data model, the integrations, the infrastructure and the risks, with the trade-offs of each option. You review it with your own people and sign off on a path.
03 Build
The software goes onto a staging environment early and stays there. You see it as it grows, and change direction while changing direction is still cheap.
04 Run
We deploy it, host it and manage it: monitoring, updates, backups and changes. If you would rather run it yourself, you get the documentation and the handover instead.
Questions we get asked
Who will I actually be talking to?
Henrique Sousa, the founder and lead engineer, is in the conversation from the first call. You talk to the person doing the engineering work, not to an account manager.
Do you work with companies outside Portugal?
Yes. Sousa Dev is based in Ponta Delgada, Azores, and works globally. We work in English and Portuguese.
How is a project priced?
Discovery produces a written scope and a fixed quote for the work that follows, so you know the deliverable and the price before development starts. Ongoing hosting and management are quoted separately from build work.
Can you take over a system somebody else built?
Often, yes. It starts with a review of the code, the infrastructure and the deployment setup, after which we tell you honestly what can be kept, what needs replacing and what we would not take responsibility for.
Do you host what you build?
Yes. Deployment, hosting and management are part of what we do, on infrastructure chosen for the system in question. You can also take the system in-house, with documentation and a handover.
What if we already know what we want built?
We still write the scope down and agree it with you. It is short when the problem is already clear, and it is what protects both sides later.
Will we own the code?
Yes. The code and the infrastructure configuration are yours, in your own repositories and accounts wherever you prefer that.
Do you sign an NDA?
Yes, on request, before you share anything confidential.
Tell us what you need to build.
Send a few lines about the problem. Your message goes straight to the lead engineer, not to a sales inbox.
Received.
It went straight to the lead engineer.