Learn more about our current job openings and benefits of working at FSL.
Detailed reviews and feedback from past and current clients.
Get to know the Management Team behind FullStack Labs.
Our step-by-step process for designing and developing new applications.
Writings from our team on technology, design, and business.
Get answers to the questions most frequently asked by new clients.
Learn about our company culture and defining principles.
A high level overview of FullStack Labs, who we are, and what we do.
A JavaScript framework that allows rapid development of native Android and IOS apps.
A JavaScript framework maintained by Facebook that's ideal for building complex, modern user interfaces within single page web apps.
A server side programming language known for its ease of use and speed of development.
A lightweight and efficient backend javascript framework for web apps.
An interpreted high-level programming language great for general purpose programming.
A JavaScript framework maintained by Google that addresses many of the challenges encountered when building single-page apps.
A JavaScript framework that allows developers to build large, complex, scalable single-page web applications.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
View a sampling of our work implemented using a variety of our favorite technologies.
View examples of the process we use to build custom software solutions for our clients.
View projects implemented using this javascript framework ideal for building complex, modern user interfaces within single page web apps.
View projects implemented using this framework that allows rapid development of native Android and IOS apps.
View projects implemented using this backend javascript framework for web apps.
View projects implemented using this high-level programming language great for general purpose programming.
View projects implemented using this server side programming language known for its ease of use and speed of development.
We have vast experience crafting healthcare software development solutions, including UI/UX Design, Application Development, Legacy Healthcare Systems, and Team Augmentation. Our development services help the healthcare industry by enhancing accessibility, productivity, portability, and scalability.
We offer a range of custom software development solutions for education companies of all sizes. We're experts in Education Software Development and specialists in enhancing the learning experience across web, mobile, and conversational UI.
We're experts in developing Custom Software Solutions for the Logistics Industry. Our work offered a whole new and more efficient way for Logistics companies to manage their crucial operations.
We partner with various construction industry organizations to build custom software development solutions. Our Construction Software Development Services allow construction companies to manage projects, resources, and documentation.
We have vast experience crafting healthcare software development solutions, including UI/UX Design, Application Development, Legacy Healthcare Systems, and Team Augmentation. Our development services help the healthcare industry by enhancing accessibility, productivity, portability, and scalability.
We offer a range of custom software development solutions for education companies of all sizes. We're experts in Education Software Development and specialists in enhancing the learning experience across web, mobile, and conversational UI.
We're experts in developing Custom Software Solutions for the Logistics Industry. Our work offered a whole new and more efficient way for Logistics companies to manage their crucial operations.
We partner with various construction industry organizations to build custom software development solutions. Our Construction Software Development Services allow construction companies to manage projects, resources, and documentation.
Learn more about our current job openings and benefits of working at FSL.
Detailed reviews and feedback from past and current clients.
Get to know the Management Team behind FullStack Labs.
Our step-by-step process for designing and developing new applications.
Writings from our team on technology, design, and business.
Get answers to the questions most frequently asked by new clients.
Learn about our company culture and defining principles.
A high level overview of FullStack Labs, who we are, and what we do.
A JavaScript framework that allows rapid development of native Android and IOS apps.
A JavaScript framework maintained by Facebook that's ideal for building complex, modern user interfaces within single page web apps.
A server side programming language known for its ease of use and speed of development.
A lightweight and efficient backend javascript framework for web apps.
An interpreted high-level programming language great for general purpose programming.
A JavaScript framework maintained by Google that addresses many of the challenges encountered when building single-page apps.
A JavaScript framework that allows developers to build large, complex, scalable single-page web applications.
A progressive JavaScript framework known for its approachability, versatility, and performance.
A dynamic programming language used in all sorts of web and mobile applications.
A cross-platform programming language designed to run robust applications on any device.
A UI toolkit used to build natively compiled applications from a single codebase.
A functional programming language that’s ideal for scalability, maintainability, and reliability.
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform that seamlessly integrates with your business operations.
A high-performance programming language that makes it easy to build simple, reliable, and efficient software.
View a sampling of our work implemented using a variety of our favorite technologies.
View examples of the process we use to build custom software solutions for our clients.
View projects implemented using this javascript framework ideal for building complex, modern user interfaces within single page web apps.
View projects implemented using this framework that allows rapid development of native Android and IOS apps.
View projects implemented using this backend javascript framework for web apps.
View projects implemented using this high-level programming language great for general purpose programming.
View projects implemented using this server side programming language known for its ease of use and speed of development.
There’s an old adage that says of speed, quality, or price, you can only choose two. This mantra certainly applies when building custom software. For instance, you can develop software fast and cheap, but it won’t be of high quality. Or, you can build high-quality software quickly, but it will be expensive. Finally, you can build at a low cost and a high level of quality, but development will take a long time.
This is an inevitable trade-off, often called “the unattainable triangle”, forces you to decide which option to sacrifice. Let’s take a look at each more closely.
Sometimes, a company may need a product quickly and have limited funds to spend on development. In this case, fast and cheap would be their only option. While it is possible to build software in this manner, the quality will suffer.
First, the rushed time frame and lack of resources will not leave enough time to properly invest in designing and testing the user interface and user experience. Instead of designing high fidelity mockups for each view of the application, building a clickable prototype, and performing user testing, you’ll likely have to settle for simple wireframes. This will result in a user interface that’s difficult to use and navigate.
Additionally, a rushed design phase will result in incomplete product specifications which will increase the risk of mistakes during development. A faster development pace will compound this effect and lead to more errors. In the end, your product will contain more bugs and deliver a poor user experience.
Since the dev team is building on a shoestring, there will be no time to implement error monitoring, user analytics, an automated test suite, and other development safeguards. Additionally, Quality Assurance will likely be rushed, which means more bugs will make it into production.
Best practices for UI and UX will likely also be cut, which means no loading states, buggy transitions, and sluggish load times, adding to user frustration.
Finally, the project will accumulate a lot of “technical debt” with complex functions, “spaghetti” code, and little documentation, making it hard to add more developers down the road. This is the very definition of low-quality code.
But, hey, you got in done on time and under budget!
If you’re flush with cash and in a rush to get the job done, you’re in luck. It is possible to build high-quality software quickly, but it’s expensive.
If you want to go fast, you need a large team of developers. But the more people on the project, the faster the team will burn through hours and budgets. Further, the more developers you add, the less efficient the team becomes (compared to a smaller team). This was illustrated in the classic book, The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks, which eventually became known as Brooks’ Law:
“Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” - Brooks Law
Larger teams mean more people in meetings as well as more back and forth to keep the whole team on the same page. Additionally, more developers working on the same project means more time (extra hours) will need to be spent making sure all the code works together.
This large, expensive team that is working diligently on the app is going to need some serious oversight and coordination, which means more Project Managers, Business Analysts, and Quality Assurance Professionals.
In the end, you’re likely to have a sleek, professional, well-built app, but it will cost a pretty penny.
Surprisingly, it’s feasible to build high-quality software at a low cost, but there’s a catch: it won’t be delivered quickly.
The basic strategy for high quality and low cost is to eliminate as many professionals from the project as possible, and have one (or maybe two) highly capable senior developers do all of the work. A single person is much more efficient in terms of billable hours, and the small team size eliminates the Brooks’ Law dynamic (the Mythical Man-Month).
Smaller software development teams that consist of just one or two people greatly reduces the time spent in standups, sprint planning meetings, and internal communication. The total number of billable hours required to build the app will be far less than with a bigger team, but the total calendar time will be much longer.
Put another way, a 5-person dev team can build an app in 4 months. That same app will take 18 months with just one developer.
When you’re planning your software development project, consider what factors are most important to you: your budget, your schedule, or the quality of the finished product. Then, choose two and start building your development team.
We’d love to learn more about your project.
Engagements start at $75,000.