specshop.dev / Build

Custom software your team will actually use.
Built right the first time.

Customer portals. Dashboards. Field force tools. Internal systems. SaaS MVPs. Whatever the product — we map every user journey and write the full spec before code exists. You approve it. Then we build it — with AI as standard, at a fixed price, in 2–3 weeks.

Not a design sprint. Not an agile retainer. A defined process with a defined outcome and a price you agree to before we start.

Spec-first development is a software delivery methodology where every user journey is mapped and approved in a written specification before any code is written — eliminating the most common cause of project failure.

01
Consulting

Thinking engagement

You have a product direction but you need to stress-test it before spending on development. We work with your team to define user journeys, identify critical unknowns, and produce a spec you can take anywhere — even if that’s not back to us.

  • Product strategy and direction setting
  • User journey mapping and workflow definition
  • Technical feasibility and architecture review
  • Spec writing and documentation
  • Team workshops and structured discovery sessions
Typically from $3,000 — scope determines cost
02
Spec + Build

Spec-driven development

You know what you need. We run the full process: every user journey mapped, a product spec written, UI/UX designed for every screen — all approved by you before a line of code exists. AI capabilities are built in from day one, not bolted on at the end. Our CTO sets the architecture. AI agents build in parallel across isolated modules. A senior engineer signs off at every stage.

Production-ready in 2–3 weeks. You own the source code. No lock-in. No scope creep. No surprises.

  • Everything in the consulting track, plus:
  • Full UI/UX design for every screen
  • Clickable prototype before any code exists
  • Technical architecture by our CTO
  • AI capabilities built in by default — mapped in the spec, not added later
  • AI-agent build with three-tier human QA
  • Production deployment + source code handoff
From $5,000 (spec only) or $10–15K (spec + build)
The process

Three stages. Every screen approved. Fixed price throughout.

Design isn’t a separate phase. It’s a byproduct of mapping every journey clearly. When you’ve defined who does what and what they see at every step, the design is already implied — internally consistent, because it came from the same thinking as the spec. This is why we don’t do design sprints. We do journey sprints.

1
Define ∼5 days

Journeys, Spec & Design

We sit with you and map every user journey your product needs — who does what, in what order, and what they see at every step. The spec writes itself from this. The design falls out too. Everything is internally consistent because it all came from the same thinking.

Complete user journey maps
Full product specification
UI/UX design for every screen
Clickable prototype to test
You approve all of this before we write a single line of code. If Stage 1 doesn’t meet your expectations, you walk away with the spec and design assets. No hard feelings.
2
Architect ∼2–3 days

Boundaries & Revision

Our CTO takes the approved journeys and spec and defines the technical architecture — module boundaries, data flows, interface contracts, and the boundary system that keeps AI agents operating safely. Then we revise the spec based on what the architecture reveals.

Technical architecture document
Agent boundary system
Architecture-validated spec
Build plan with module breakdown
3
Build & Ship ∼5–7 days

Agents + Human Sign-Off

AI agents build in parallel across isolated modules. Tests first, always. Three tiers of testing — automated unit/integration, AI-assisted end-to-end, and human review. Final sign-off is human. Non-negotiable.

Production-deployed application
Full test suite
Documentation
Source code (you own everything)
An honest note: If an engagement fails, it fails in Stage 1 — never Stage 3. The build pipeline is robust. The vulnerability is always spec precision. That’s why we spend 5 full days on journeys before touching architecture or code.

Our internal toolchain — spec2web — manages deploys, versioning, and the Project Memory that makes every build maintainable from day one.

What fits

Right-sized for
the right problems.

We work best with operations leads and business owners who know what their team or their customers need — but haven’t had a software partner who could deliver it at a price that made sense. And with corporate innovation teams who need to move faster than their internal IT function allows.

We’re not right for every project. The scope guide below tells you what fits and what pushes the timeline. We’ll confirm on the discovery call.

In scope
  • 2–3 core user workflows
  • Up to 3 user types with different permissions
  • Standard integrations (payment, email, auth)
  • Responsive web applications
  • Internal tools and client portals
  • SaaS MVPs and V1 products
  • Booking and ordering systems
  • Deployment to your infrastructure or ours
What pushes the timeline
  • Complex business logic (insurance, financial modelling)
  • Heavy third-party integrations (5+ APIs)
  • More than 3 user types with overlapping permissions
  • Real-time features (chat, live collaboration)
  • Hardware or native mobile requirements
  • Legacy system migration or data transformation

None of these are hard stops — they just change the timeline and cost. We’ll tell you on the discovery call.

Track record

Nine years. Five countries.
Carried forward.

specshop.dev is new. The craft behind it isn’t. We shipped software for a decade under Beta Launch — the thinking, the relationships, and the commitment to honest delivery carry forward.

“My hope in the MetJip product was revived after two expensive failed attempts with other agencies. Many teams can build — but very few understand the business requirement first. That’s what made the difference.”

Aukje Looijmans
Founder, MetJip · Netherlands

“A truly special partnership across 4 years. I can trust the team’s abilities and humanity. Janaka and team have been a critical part of developing the world-class product that Takso is today.”

Takso
Cultural Development Platform · Australia

“Beta Launch has been a vital partner to the USAID Catalyze program. The workshops delivered to over 120 tech startups made them highly recommended specialists.”

Juan Forero
USAID CATALYZE Activity Team Lead
Investment

Why this price makes sense

Traditional agency
Month 1: Discovery & scoping ($15,000+) Month 2–3: Design & prototyping ($20,000+) Month 4–6: Development ($40,000+) Month 5: “Scope change” conversation ($15,000+) Month 6: Bug fixes from rushed delivery ($10,000+) Total: $100,000+ Timeline: 5–7 months You see the product at month 4. Scope creep is expected. It’s in the model.

The physics of software delivery changed. The pricing reflects that — not the other way around.

Investment

Two ways to start.
Same first 5 days.

Both tracks begin with the same journey-mapping and spec work. The difference is what happens after you approve the design. You can take the spec anywhere — or bring it back to us for the build.

Consulting
Thinking
Engagement
Customengagement
Scope-dependent · Talk to us

  • Product strategy sessions
  • User journey mapping workshops
  • Technical feasibility review
  • Spec writing and documentation
  • Build is separate / take spec anywhere
Spec only
The Spec
$5,000fixed
∼5 days · Yours to keep

  • Every user journey mapped
  • Complete product specification
  • Full UI/UX for every screen
  • Clickable prototype
  • Take to any dev team or return to us
Questions

Probably on your mind.

Workflow applications with 2–3 core workflows and up to 3 user types. Internal tools, client portals, booking systems, dashboards, SaaS MVPs. We’re not building Uber at scale — but if your project fits the scope guide above, we’ll tell you on the discovery call what’s possible and what it would cost exactly.
Every product we build includes AI capabilities from day one — not as an add-on, not as a future phase. This typically means an AI assistant embedded in the product connected to your data, smart search, automated summaries, or workflow suggestions built into the core user journeys. We map the AI touchpoints during the spec phase the same way we map every other user journey — so they’re designed in, not dropped in.
When you map every user journey — who does what, in what order, what they see at every step — the screens are already implied. The design emerges from the journey mapping, not as a separate design phase. The spec, design, and architecture are all internally consistent because they came from the same thinking process.
Then we revise it. Stage 1 exists so you approve everything before code is written. If we fundamentally can’t align, you walk away with the spec and design assets. Because the design emerges from journeys we map together, misalignment is rare — you’ve been part of the thinking at every step.
No. The build is AI-assisted, not AI-unsupervised. Every line of code follows a spec that was mapped journey-by-journey and approved by you. Our CTO sets the technical architecture. Three tiers of testing run before delivery: automated unit/integration, AI-assisted end-to-end, and human code review. A senior engineer signs off before anything ships.

The difference between “vibe-coding” and what we do: we spend 5 full days writing the spec before an agent writes a character. The spec is the product. The code is the output.

See our full breakdown of vibe coding vs spec-first development →

You do. Source code, documentation, test suite — all transfers to you on delivery. No lock-in. You can hand the codebase to your own team or another agency the next day.
We write the spec. Your job is to explain your business problem and validate the journeys we design. You bring the domain expertise — we bring the product engineering methodology. If you can describe what your users need to accomplish, we can map the journeys.

Ready to see what it would actually cost?

30 minutes. We’ll tell you whether it’s a fit, which track makes sense, and the exact price and timeline for your project. No pitch. No deck. Just clarity.

Book a discovery call

or email hello@specshop.dev