Custom applications
Web applications built around how your business actually works, from first version to production.
The problem
The work runs on spreadsheets, email threads and off-the-shelf tools that almost fit. Every workaround costs someone time each week, and the software that would remove them does not exist yet.
How Aternex approaches it
- Start from how the business really runs: the people, the steps and the exceptions, gathered in conversation and written down in plain language.
- Put a first version with the screens that matter in front of the people who will use it, then shape it around what they actually do.
- Set the codebase up with tests, type checks and a release pipeline on the first day, so later changes stay as safe as the first one.
- Ship to production and hand over code that the next developer can read, run and change.
What you get
- A web application with sign-up, roles and the workflows your business depends on
- Forms, approvals and dashboards that match how the work is actually done
- Payments and billing where the product needs them
- Automated tests and a release pipeline that runs on every change
- Plain-language notes on how the system is built, deployed and run
The evidence
Measured results from production work, each with its method and limits, and working examples of the same kind of system on made-up data.
Measured in production work
- Built a payment gateway from scratch as employee number seven, and it grew into its own business.See how it was measured
- A browser suite that had never passed (0 of 103) was repaired to 111 passing tests, and a unit and integration layer that did not exist was added: 458 tests. 569 tests in all, 530 of them added.See how it was measured
Working examples
- Software product starterGet a new product in front of users with sign-up, onboarding and billing in place.
- Booking and schedulingLet customers book an appointment without a phone call.
- Customer support deskAnswer customers quickly and know which requests are about to go overdue.
- Intake forms and approvalsCollect information once, route it for review, and show each reviewer only what they need.
Questions
Who builds the application?
Austin Lippert, the founder of Aternex, does the work himself, from the first conversation to production. The person you describe the problem to is the person writing the code.
Which languages and frameworks does Aternex use?
Whatever the business already runs. .NET is the default for new work, alongside TypeScript, React, Next.js, Vue and Node.js. In one engagement I rebuilt a Blazor client as React and Next.js and rewrote its pipeline in Node.
Can Aternex start from a vague idea?
Yes. Most custom applications start as a description of a problem rather than a specification. The first step is a call to understand the work; from there the first version is scoped to what the people using it need most.
What happens after launch?
The application keeps its tests and release pipeline, so later changes ship the same way the first version did. Aternex can stay on to extend it, or hand it to your own developers with notes on how it is built and run.
Have an application in mind?
Tell Aternex what is going on, on a call or through the contact form. I reply within two business days.