Have you ever heard of consulting engineers who seem to disappear as soon as the project is “complete”? Maybe you’ve even worked with some. This is what we call the “Dev and Dash“ phenomenon – something that resonates with anyone who's been left high and dry by consulting engineers after project handoff. This frustrating practice leaves you with a hastily assembled solution and little guidance on how to proceed.
At Polar Labs, one of our core philosophies is to provide a seamless project handoff experience by planning for testing, CI/CD pipelines, and documentation to deliver a robust and maintainable foundation from day one. Our solutions are designed to built upon - not rebuilt.
The all-too-common project handoff nightmare
Many engineering consultancies fall into these common traps:
- Siloed development: Projects are developed in isolation, ignoring the big picture of how the work integrates into your existing systems.
- Leaving you in the dark: Documentation? Forget it. Essential documentation is often neglected, leaving you with insufficient guidance on how to maintain or expand the solution.
- Minimal testing: Tests are often quite basic, or simply not written at all, resulting in a product that frequently requires extensive manual troubleshooting and bug fixing.
- Throwaway prototypes: Proof-of-concept work is rarely designed to serve as a foundation for your actual product, resulting in wasted time and resources.
Polar Labs' differentiating principles
Our methodology is guided by these key principles:
- We build it like we own it: We approach your project as if it were our own, investing time and expertise to ensure its long-term success. This includes rigorous testing, robust CI/CD pipelines, and the option to use our open-source StarterKits for seamless integration.
- Prototypes are foundations, not dead ends: Our primary goal is to create an MVP (minimum viable product) that provides the highest immediate impact and value to your business. We build everything in a way that reinforces its foundations. We aim for code that is easily adapted, maintained, and scaled by either your team or ours.
- Documentation is key: We recognize the importance of clear, detailed documentation. By default, your project is assigned a technical writer, who creates user-friendly guides that explain the system's functionality and empower your team to build upon our work.
- Collaborative handoff process: We believe that the handoff is a crucial part of the project, not just an afterthought. We schedule dedicated meetings to walk your team through the code, documentation, and pipelines, ensuring a smooth transition and fostering confidence in your ability to take ownership of the solution.
- Empowering your team: Our thorough documentation and comprehensive testing enable your developers to quickly understand and extend the work we've done, without fear of breaking anything.
Agile development with a focus on immediate value
At Polar Labs, we don't subscribe to the "build it fast, then trash it" approach. Instead, we embrace the original Lean Startup methodology, ruthlessly prioritizing features that provide immediate value to you and your users.
We break down product needs into small, incremental chunks that align with a greater vision which is constantly refined based on real-world data. This means building only what's necessary to validate assumptions and add value, not producing throw-away code. This philosophy applies to everything we build, whether internal or for our clients. This approach allows us to move quickly without sacrificing quality, constantly reinforcing our foundation for future growth.
When it comes to handoff, you won't receive a disposable prototype. We deliver a robust foundation complete with reusable tools, testing, documentation, and everything your team needs to hit the ground running. Of course, you're always welcome to keep working with us to continue to build your vision together.
Ready for a better handoff experience?
If you're seeking a more collaborative and client-focused engineering partner, we invite you to contact us using the Calendly form below. Learn how our foundation-first approach can help your project succeed.
