How we scope fixed-price software honestly
Fixed price only works when the discovery phase is real. Here is the shape of the estimate we actually stand behind.
Sofia Ferreira
Delivery Lead
A fixed price on a vague scope is not a commitment, it is a bet — and the client pays for the hedge either way.
We separate discovery from delivery and price them separately. Discovery produces an architecture document, a prioritised backlog and a range. If the range does not work for you, you own the document and can take it elsewhere.
Inside delivery we fix the price and the deadline, and keep scope as the variable. Every sprint the client chooses what enters, and the backlog absorbs the surprises that always exist.
This is less profitable on the projects that go smoothly and considerably less painful on the ones that do not. Averaged across a year it is the only version we have found that keeps both sides honest.