The first conversation: what happens in 30 minutes, and what you take away

Every engagement with Cloudwerks starts with the same appointment: 30 minutes, free of charge, with the architect who will later design and build the system. This post explains what happens in that conversation, what to prepare – and what you have in hand afterwards.

Who you are talking to

There is no sales team that holds the conversation and hands it on afterwards. From the first minute you speak with Markus Niewerth, senior software architect and founder of Cloudwerks. The same person later designs the architecture, builds the system and hands it over to you.

There is a practical reason for this. The first conversation is where the assessments are made that everything else follows from: what the actual problem is, what belongs in a first version, what does not. Those assessments should come from the person who will later stand behind them.

What to prepare – and what not to

You do not need a requirements document or any technical background. What helps is something concrete from day-to-day operations:

• An example. An order, a field-service visit, a stock count – a process that currently takes too long, goes wrong too often or depends on one person. Ideally the way it actually ran yesterday, not the way it is supposed to run.
• The people involved. Who handles the process today, who needs its results, who would use the software every day later on.
• The systems you already have. The name of your ERP or inventory management system, and the spreadsheets that sit in between. Nothing more.
• A quote, if you have one. Many conversations start with another provider's quote on the table. Bring it along – we read it together.

What you do not need to prepare: a solution. The solution is our job. Yours is the bottleneck.

What happens in the 30 minutes

The conversation has three parts, and the first one is the longest.

You describe. We listen and ask follow-up questions: Where is time lost today? Where do errors creep in? What happens when the process stalls? These questions are not about technology but about the workflow. You know the workflow – and the system has to fit it later, not the other way round.

We sort it out. Is this a problem that software solves? If so: which part belongs in a first version that runs in eight weeks – and which part is a build-out that comes later? This separation is the heart of the conversation. It decides whether a project starts small and clear, or large and vague.

We tell you what it costs. For the MVP Sprint that is simple: a fixed price of €9,500 for a running system consisting of a web application, an Android app, a backend and a database. Anything beyond that we name as a build-out. It is quoted separately and in writing – never as a surprise on the invoice.

What you have in hand afterwards

You leave the conversation with one of three answers: the problem fits the sprint. It is better to start with an architecture review, for instance because an existing system is in the way. Or it is a separate undertaking that we quote on its own. All three answers are free, and they belong to you – whether or not you hire us. You can use them to evaluate another quote, to decide internally, or to set the topic aside for now.

Sometimes the answer is: you do not need custom software for this. Or: this is not a software problem. Then we say so. A conversation that ends with a clear no is better for both sides than a project that should never have started.

What happens next – if you want it to

If you want to continue after the conversation, the second step follows, and it is in writing: we set down what will be built and name the fixed price for it. You have both in front of you before you pay anything. That written scope is the basis for everything that happens in the eight weeks – and the answer to the question "what does finished mean?" before it comes up.

What happens during the eight weeks themselves is described on the MVP Sprint page. In short: you see working interim versions in every phase, and at the end the software runs in your environment.

What the conversation is not

• Not a sales pitch. You get an assessment, not a proposal that has to be signed that day.
• Not an exam. You do not need to know anything you do not already know. We explain technical terms – or leave them out.
• Not a commitment. 30 minutes, free, by video call or phone. Afterwards, you decide.