Our Approach

We build systems the way good engineers think: start with constraints, make trade-offs explicit, and measure everything.

1. Start with the real problem

Most projects don’t fail because the framework was wrong. They fail because the problem was never described precisely.

We begin with a short technical brief:

• What are we actually optimising for: latency, throughput, reliability, or cost?
• Who runs this in production: a 2-person team or a 50-person platform org?
• What is non-negotiable, and what can move?

From there we design the smallest architecture that can possibly work, not the most impressive one that can be drawn.

2. Architect for latency and reliability

Speed without reliability is chaos. Reliability without speed is stagnation.

We design for both:

• Sub-50ms TTFB where it matters (edge, caching, smart data access).
• Predictable failure modes: timeouts, fallbacks, graceful degradation.
• Simple paths through the system so on-call engineers can reason about incidents at 03:17.

If a request path can’t be explained on a whiteboard in a few boxes and arrows, we simplify it.

3. Build less, integrate better

The best code is code you never had to write.

We:

• Prefer standards and well-understood protocols over custom magic.
• Use managed services where they make sense, but keep clear escape hatches.
• Put specialised tech (edge workers, queues, streaming, LLMs) where it moves the needle, not everywhere.

Every new component has to earn its place in the system.

4. Make performance observable, not mythical

“Fast” is not a feeling; it’s a graph.

From the start we:

• Define a small set of quality metrics (p75/p95, error rates, cache hit ratios).
• Wire dashboards and alerts around those metrics.
• Treat performance work as a continuous practice, not a one-time optimisation sprint.

If we can’t measure an improvement, we don’t claim it.

5. Design for the people who inherit the code

We don’t build monuments. We build systems other teams can own.

That means:

• Clear boundaries and contracts between services.
• Boring, well-documented flows where boring is the right choice.
• Architecture notes that explain why things are the way they are, not just what they are.

A good handover is one where the next team says “We can change this safely.”

6. Ship in tight, honest loops

We work in short, focused iterations:

• Small, reviewable changes.
• Early production tests under real traffic where possible.
• Direct, technical communication with your team, no buzzword layers in between.

When trade-offs are required, we spell them out.
When something is uncertain, we experiment and measure.