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Get to know your application and situation
We discuss what your application does and who maintains it now. We review the code, versions, tests, hosting and releases, and identify which risks need attention first and what already works well.
Built by 10KB
Hiring a Ruby on Rails developer? We take responsibility
Looking for Ruby on Rails developers for your application? 10KB doesn't second developers. You work with a team that takes responsibility for your Rails software: for maintenance and operations, for ongoing development or for both.
A regular team that gets to know your application
Maintenance, operations and development from one partner
Responsibility for quality, releases and continuity
No secondment
A team that takes ownership of your application
If you want to hire a Ruby on Rails developer, you're usually looking for someone to take on the work on an application. With secondment, that developer works under your direction and responsibility for the software stays with you. We don't second developers.
We take responsibility for your Rails application ourselves. We keep it up to date and secure, investigate and fix problems and develop it further. We set priorities together with you. How the work is built, tested and deployed is our concern.
Several developers get to know your application, review each other's changes and can take over a colleague's work. Your software stays in good hands, even during holidays, illness or changes in the team.
Read about ongoing development
Why a software agency
The benefits of a team behind your software
Continuity with several developers
Several developers know your application. We record knowledge in reviews, documentation and a reproducible development environment.
Responsible for the whole
Beyond the code, we look after updates, security, releases and the environment your application runs in. You have one point of contact for all of it.
Frontend, hosting and DevOps too
You work with a team that knows frontend, hosting and DevOps as well as Ruby on Rails. That knowledge is there when your application needs it.
Maintenance and operations or ongoing development
Ownership, wherever you start
With maintenance and operations, we keep your existing application usable and secure. We update Ruby, Rails and gems, assess security issues, investigate faults and manage releases. Where needed, we record hosting, monitoring and arrangements for availability and urgent support in an SLA.
With ongoing development, we keep building your application. Maintenance and new features share one backlog, so new requests do not displace essential maintenance. A monthly retainer may suit ongoing development. We agree on effort, budget and priorities for your application.
We have worked with Ruby and Rails since founding 10KB in 2013. For an existing application, we first look at versions, gems, tests, database migrations, background jobs and the production environment.
Explore maintenance and support
SGI Compliance · Werkplanner
From changing developers to a team that takes responsibility
Werkplanner was developed by several freelancers. When someone left, SGI Compliance had to arrange a replacement and transfer the knowledge itself. So SGI looked for a long-term partner with several Ruby on Rails developers to maintain and develop the application.
We gradually took over development. The developer who had known the application for years remained involved during the transition and reviewed our changes. Responsibility for development and knowledge transfer now sits with our team. Several developers know Werkplanner and a colleague can take over during someone's absence. Our developers take part in the weekly discussions with SGI.
Explore the case
Healthcare software · Smartfile
Improve the foundation before adding more
Adding features had become increasingly risky in Smartfile's existing Rails software. Access to patient records needed particular attention. We improved the authorisation foundation, requiring access to be granted explicitly.
We inventoried existing functionality for automated tests and automated the deployment process. A second environment let the team roll back if a deployment went wrong. Taking responsibility for software also means paying attention to testing and delivery, alongside the features you want to add.
Explore the case
They take ownership of the code and think along about safeguarding functionality and developing new things in the existing application.
Roos Rietveld
Director at Planned Culture
They really think things through with us and don't just build whatever is asked for.
Esther Radder
Product manager for Werkplanner at SGI Compliance Nederland
They don't just say yes; they're real sounding boards. Highly competent in their field.
Antoon Scheffers
IVBB
You've helped us greatly, both as a sounding board and in doing the work.
Toon Van Dooren
Lead innovation engineer at Savvii Managed Hosting
A company of developers
Talk to the people building your software
Apart from Bas in sales and Linda in operations, everyone at 10KB is a developer. We don't employ project managers, designers or marketers. Software development is our craft, and our company is built around it.
You explain your requirements to the people writing the code. We make the technical choices understandable: what are the options, and what does each mean for reliability, security, costs and maintenance? You don't need to be a programmer to take part in those decisions.
Together, we choose what best fits your challenge. We keep considering those trade-offs throughout development, as usage grows, requirements change or a simpler solution becomes possible. Coordination, planning and explanation are part of our developers' work.
How direct contact with developers works
Ewout Kleinsmann and Roland Boon
Two lead engineers at the helm
Ewout and Roland were already programming together as students. That led to the founding of 10KB in 2013. They still do what brought them together: build software.
They contribute to all our projects every day. Their working day revolves around code: programming, reviewing colleagues' work and making technical decisions. When you discuss your software with them, you're talking to people who help build the solution themselves.
Ewout guides projects from the first outline through to delivery, keeping an eye on how the parts work together. Roland sets the technical direction and focuses on code quality, security and maintainability. You'll find them working alongside the other developers.
Meet the whole team
Agreements before the first line of code
Three guarantees you can plan around
Where a cost guarantee is agreed, the pessimistic estimate in the proposal sets the maximum for unchanged functionality and assumptions. If the work takes less time, you pay for the hours actually worked. We estimate new requirements separately.
We fix faults arising from our original development at no extra charge within the agreed scope and warranty period. The proposal specifies that period. We also agree on aftercare in advance: how to report problems and who handles them.
We address delivery findings from an agreed independent security audit at no extra charge within the agreed audit and project scope. The guarantee covers fixes to the delivered solution. New security requirements outside those agreements aren't included.
A maximum for an unchanged scope
A ceiling on costs
Where a cost guarantee is agreed, the pessimistic estimate in the proposal sets the maximum for unchanged functionality and assumptions. If the work takes less time, you pay for the hours actually worked. We estimate new requirements separately.
Your investment, your software
New custom code belongs to you
We always transfer copyright in the custom code we develop for you. You can develop the software further, build an internal team or continue with another supplier.
We make that practical too, with access to the source code, documentation and necessary accounts. Wherever possible, hosting and external services are registered in your name. Third-party libraries and services remain subject to their own licences and terms.
For existing code, we check the rights and agreements with the previous supplier with you. Our copyright transfer concerns the custom code we develop.
You stay with us because the collaboration works. Your software doesn't tie you to us.
Our intellectual property agreements
Working together in three steps
From introduction to taking over responsibility
We make the approach specific to your application, situation and budget.
02
Agree on responsibilities and effort
We record what we will be responsible for: maintenance and operations, ongoing development or both. We discuss monthly effort and budget, how to report problems and which support is included.
03
Take over, improve and develop further
We take over the work step by step, together with the current developer where needed. Tests, reviews and documentation help protect existing behaviour. You review working changes directly with the developers, and we keep discussing the next priorities.
When should you choose 10KB?
We're a good fit if you're looking for a partner that takes responsibility for your Ruby on Rails application. We'll discuss whether your application, the support you need and your planning fit with us.
We're a good fit if…
- Your software is critical to your business. Customers, employees or other systems depend on it. Downtime and errors have direct consequences, so availability and recovery deserve attention from the start.
- You want one partner to hold the responsibility. You're looking for a team that handles maintenance, operations and development and involves you in the decisions.
- You want to keep developing in the long term. You're looking for a team that can solve complex calculations, integrations or scaling challenges and keep the software understandable and maintainable.
Consider another approach if…
- You're looking for a developer who works under your direction. If you want to divide the work yourself and keep the responsibility, secondment or a freelancer is a better fit.
- You need a one-stop shop. An agency that also handles your online marketing and designs your business cards is a different kind of partner. We focus on developing and maintaining software.
- Your project suits an off-the-shelf system. Think of a large content website with a CMS or a standard webshop. Can Drupal, Magento or Webflow meet your needs? Then choose a specialist in that platform. We have no experience with those systems, and they don't match our specialism.
Is a freelancer or another supplier leaving your application? Read how we take over a Ruby on Rails application.
What you'll want to know first
We don't second developers. You work with a 10KB team that takes responsibility for your Rails application, for maintenance and operations, ongoing development or both. You talk directly to the developers working on it.
With secondment, a developer works under your direction and you remain responsible for the software. With us, responsibility for the technical work lies with our team: quality, tests, releases and keeping knowledge in the team. You set the priorities together with us.
That depends on your application and the agreements we make. A monthly retainer may suit ongoing development; we set effort and budget together. We invoice monthly in arrears for the hours actually worked. Hosting and SLA commitments have their own agreed scope.
We agree on these separately. Regular development work does not automatically mean a developer is available outside working hours. For business-critical software, we can record suitable support and availability arrangements in an SLA.
Colleagues review changes, important decisions are documented and the development environment needs to be reproducible. This helps several developers learn the code. At the start, we discuss which documentation or handover work is still needed.
Yes. At SGI Compliance, we gradually took over development from the previous developers. We first review the version, gems, tests and deployment process. A takeover isn't a promise that every existing fault will be fixed immediately; we inventory and estimate those separately.
Ewout
Discuss your Rails application
Tell us what your Ruby on Rails application does, who maintains it now and what you want to achieve. We'll discuss which responsibilities we can take on and how we would work together. Call +31 24 669 05 18 or email Ewout directly.