Start here: who this guide is for, and which stage you're at
A guide for people about to buy or build a platform, internal system or website, or hire a vendor for tech and go-to-market. Pick your path, find your stage.
- One guide, four reading paths: CEO, COO, engineer, marketing.
- The five-stage ladder is our framework and opinion, not a measured standard.
- Every chapter links to question pages with proof from named, anonymised builds.
- We sell this work. Where our interest could bias a view, we say so.
Quick answer
This guide answers the questions each person on a buying team asks before they commit: the CEO, the COO, the engineer and the marketing head. Each has a reading path. Find your current stage on the five-stage ladder first, then read only the chapters you need. It is built from real projects and states what we have and haven't measured.
Pick your path
| You are | Read in this order |
|---|---|
| CEO | Build or buy, version 1, vet a vendor, one vendor or two, data and DPDP |
| COO | Version 1, will my team use it, handover, testing |
| Engineer or CTO | One backend, double bookings, testing, data and DPDP, vet a vendor |
| Marketing head | Publish without a developer, get found, one vendor or two |
Which stage are you at?
The ladder below is our own way of describing where a business is. It is an opinion drawn from our projects. No benchmark or measurement stands behind it.
| Stage | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| 0. Sheets and chat | Work lives in spreadsheets and messaging groups. It works, until someone is away. |
| 1. One clean system | One system holds the main record, such as a well-built workbook or a single tool. |
| 2. Connected | Systems share data, so a fact is entered once. |
| 3. Automated | Routine steps run without a person: reminders, status changes, reports. |
| 4. Assisted | Software suggests or drafts, and people decide. |
Most buyers want to jump two stages. Moving one stage at a time is usually cheaper and safer. We built a 16-sheet workbook for a coaching institute because stage 1 solved their problem. A custom platform would have been a stage ahead of the need. See build or buy.
What this guide is built from
Named, anonymised work: a real-time clinic-queue platform, a coaching institute’s operations workbook, a marketplace handover and retainer, and the CMS behind this hub. The flagship case study is here.
What it isn’t. None of these builds has a measured outcome. No page here quotes a usage, saving or growth number for our work, because we do not have one. We say what was built, what was tested and what is still open.
The chapters
- Build, buy or configure
- Choosing and vetting a vendor
- Architecture questions for your engineers
- Data, security and compliance
- Rollout, adoption and handover
- Tech and go-to-market together
The ladder is our framework. Facts about our projects come from our project notes and are tracked in our claim ledger. No figure on this page comes from a third party.
More by GarunaCDX
Keep going with the next handbook.
Chapter-by-chapter guides from the engineers who build these systems for clients.
