A pod of front end, back end and an SDET, led by a named tech lead, shipping in two-week increments. Quality is not a separate purchase and not a later phase — the test engineer is in the pod from the first sprint.
With a named tech lead owning the release, and major releases every two to three weeks in flight.
The published figure for a first working release, with daily minor releases alongside.
Plus feature flags, budgeted web vitals per route and rollback in a single command.
An SDET sits in the pod: quality is not a separate purchase and not a later phase.
One senior-led pod builds the whole product: component architecture in React, Angular or Vue with real accessibility rather than an audit-day retrofit; services in Node.js, .NET or Java with schema design, query performance and migration strategy treated as first-class work; REST and GraphQL APIs with versioning, authentication, rate limiting and the contract tests that keep them honest; and the cloud architecture, environments and pipelines underneath.
The delivery mechanics are what make two-week increments real. Preview environments per pull request, edge caching, bundle budgets, feature flags, rollback in a single command, and Core Web Vitals budgeted per route rather than measured after launch. Functional, regression, integration, exploratory, usability, performance, compatibility and security testing all happen inside the same pod, which is why quality is not a separate line on the invoice.
Before the build there is a business case: a total cost of ownership model, an expected-return estimate, features mapped to subscription plans where the product is commercial, a release plan and the KPIs it will be judged on. Mobile work covers cross-platform React Native and Flutter or native Swift and Kotlin, and includes store listings, privacy declarations, permission rationales and shepherding reviewer feedback through to approval.
What one pod covers, so you are not integrating three vendors' work yourself.
Component architecture in React, Angular or Vue with state management, responsive layout and real accessibility built in rather than retrofitted the week before an audit. Web vitals are budgeted per route and enforced in the pipeline.
Services in Node.js, .NET or Java, with schema design, query performance and migration strategy treated as first-class work rather than as something to fix after the first load spike.
REST and GraphQL design with versioning, authentication and rate limiting, documented with OpenAPI, integrated with payment, CRM, ERP and third-party services — and covered by contract tests so a change breaks the build rather than a consumer.
A preview environment per pull request, edge caching, bundle budgets, feature flags and a single-command rollback. These are what make a two-week increment safe rather than merely fast.
Functional, regression, integration, exploratory, usability, performance, compatibility and security testing inside the same pod — and compliance scope where it applies, including FDA, HIPAA and PCI DSS work.
Cross-platform React Native and Flutter or native Swift and Kotlin, plus store listings, privacy declarations, permission rationales, submission and reviewer feedback handled through to approval — and the OS and store-policy upgrades that arrive on someone else's schedule.
The commercial case comes before the code, and the increments start almost immediately after.
A total cost of ownership model, an expected-return estimate, and features mapped to plans where the product is sold. Eight published cost drivers shape the estimate — feature count and complexity, screens, user roles, method, workflow logic, regulatory scope, integration complexity and hosting choices.
Front end, back end and an SDET under a named tech lead, from the pre-vetted bench. You interview them, and a paid pilot against one metric is the normal first commitment.
Each increment ships behind a preview environment and a feature flag, with rollback available in one command. Release predictability is the measure, not velocity points.
Accessibility, performance budgets, contract tests and security testing run inside the increments rather than as a pre-launch phase — which is the only way a two-week cadence survives contact with a real audience.
Store submission where it applies, L1 to L3 support afterwards, and a documented handover. You own the code and the IP from day one, and nothing is subcontracted without your written consent.
Four situations, and one of them is the inverse — you have a build team and need the assurance layer instead.
Whether to build cloud-native or move the existing application. The answer usually depends on how much of the current system's behaviour is actually documented anywhere.
A usable MVP in one to two months, with the plan and the KPIs agreed before the build so the release is judged against something.
When packaged tools force costly workarounds, cannot integrate with existing systems, or leave a gap in the process that gives you an edge — the classic custom-build trigger.
The inverse case. If you already build and only need the assurance layer independently, that is a testing engagement rather than this one.
What this pod does not cover, and where the honest numbers are.
It depends on how much of the current system's behaviour is documented and how much of it still earns its keep. A migration is cheaper when the domain logic is sound and the platform is the problem; a rebuild is cheaper when nobody can say what the system does.
Included. An SDET sits inside the pod, and functional, regression, integration, exploratory, usability, performance, compatibility and security testing happen in the same increments as the build.
A ready-to-use MVP in one to two months is the published figure, with major releases every two to three weeks after that and daily minor releases. The first commitment is a paid pilot against one metric.
Cross-platform with React Native or Flutter where the app is largely screens, data and integrations. Native Swift or Kotlin where the app depends on device capability — camera and sensor behaviour, background processing, or platform-specific interface conventions.
You do, from day one. NDA and MSA are signed before any access is granted, nothing is subcontracted without your written consent, and documentation, runbooks and IP transfer at exit.
L1 to L3 support, plus the maintenance work both app stores force on their own schedule — OS releases, dependency upgrades, security patches and store-policy changes — which is the part most first-time budgets omit.
Talk to the group and a senior lead scopes it in writing, or go straight to the service's own site and look at it yourself. Neither route commits you to the other.
Name the number you need to hit. A senior lead replies within one business day and a costed plan follows within three working days.
Appsierra's build pages: cloud app development, web application development, custom software and mobile — with the cost drivers set out in full.
Everything the group sells around Cloud app development — the company that delivers it, the nearest siblings, and the full list.