Guides to software and AI projects
A guide is an evergreen walk-through of one decision you face before a build — what to scope, what it costs, what to automate, which delivery model fits.
All guides
Start with the decision you are facing.
How to build a customer portal: features, cost and build options
For operations and product leads weighing up a portal: what one is, the five things it has to get right, how to choose between off-the-shelf and bespoke, and what it costs to build.
How to scope and build an MVP without building the wrong thing
For founders and product owners about to commission a first build: how to pick the one thing your MVP has to prove, how to cut scope without gutting the product, and how to know whether it worked.
How much does it cost to build an app?
An honest answer for anyone getting quotes: why the range is so wide, the five things that actually move the number, the costs that are not the build, and how to brief a supplier so the estimate is accurate.
AI agents for business: what they cost and where they pay back
For decision-makers being pitched agents: what an agent is in business terms, whether you need one at all, where they genuinely pay back today, how to size the prize before building, and how the cost is actually structured.
How to automate business processes with AI
A practical playbook for operations leaders: which processes are actually worth automating, the four levels of autonomy you can choose between, how to calculate the payback, and how to give an automation real responsibility without losing control of it.
Bespoke software vs off-the-shelf: how to decide
A decision guide for business and operations leaders: when buying a product beats building one, when it does not, the costs both options hide, and a test you can run against your own process this week.
Fixed price vs agile: which delivery model fits your project
For anyone about to sign a development contract: what each model actually commits you to, how the risk is shared, the hybrid most projects should use, and a test for deciding which fits the work in front of you.
How to integrate AI into existing software
For CTOs and technical leads with a system already in production: where AI can attach to what you have, why the data work comes first, the integration patterns that hold up, and what changes about security when a model can read your data.
Need help building your ideas?
Tell us where you're headed and we'll come back with our thoughts, a realistic plan and a rough cost estimate. Scorchsoft is a UK-based team of app, portal and AI developers, working in-house from Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.