From the team behind Beta Launch — 10 years · 120+ products · 5 countries
See every screen before a line of code is written. Ship in 2 weeks.
We map every user journey until the design, spec, and architecture emerge from the same thinking. Then AI agents build it — and a senior engineer signs off. Every time.
2–3 wks
Brief to production
Full product
Designed · built · deployed
$10–15K
Full package
Trusted by USAID, Takso, HAL Capital & more
The Problem
You've been quoted $30–50K and "about 3 months." You'll probably get something close to what you asked for.
Traditional dev shops sell hours. The longer it takes, the more they earn. Your brief gets interpreted by a designer, re-interpreted by a developer, and what ships is two rounds of revisions away from what you actually needed.
The Old Way
How most agencies work
You describe it → they interpret it → you hope for the best
Design, spec, and architecture done by different people
3 months, $30–50K, and you see it when it's "done"
Changes cost change requests
The specshop.dev Way
Journey-driven, spec-first
Every user journey mapped with you → design and spec emerge together
One integrated process — nothing lost in translation
You approve every screen at day 5, before any code exists
Revisions happen in the spec, not in production
How It Works
Three stages. 2–3 weeks. You see everything before it's built.
Design isn't a separate phase. It's a byproduct of mapping every journey clearly.
1
Define — Journeys, Spec & Design
We sit with you and map every user journey your product needs. Who does what, in what order, and what they see at every step. The spec writes itself — because if you've defined every journey, you've defined every feature and edge case. The design falls out too.
Complete user journey maps
Full product specification
UI/UX design for every screen
Clickable prototype you can test
You approve all of this before we write a single line of code.
2
Architect — Boundaries & Revision
Our CTO takes the approved journeys and spec and defines the technical architecture — module boundaries, data flows, interface contracts, and the boundary system that keeps AI agents safe. Then we revise the spec based on what the architecture reveals.
Technical architecture document
Agent boundary system (Always Do / Ask First / Never Do)
Revised and architecture-validated spec
Build plan with module breakdown
3
Build & Ship — Agents + Human Sign-Off
AI agents build in parallel across isolated modules. Tests first, always. Three tiers of testing — automated unit/integration, AI-assisted end-to-end, and human review. Final sign-off is human. Non-negotiable.
Production-deployed application
Full test suite
Documentation
Source code (you own everything)
An honest note
If an engagement fails, it fails in Stage 1 — never Stage 3. The build pipeline is robust. The vulnerability is always spec precision. That's why we spend 5 full days on journeys before touching architecture or code. An imprecise spec produces confidently wrong software at machine speed.
Know what you need built?
30 minutes. We'll tell you if it's a fit and what it would cost.
Book a Discovery Call →What You Get
A product you can launch. Not a prototype. Not a pitch deck.
User journey maps — Every workflow, mapped end to end.
Product specification — Every feature, edge case, acceptance criterion.
UI/UX design — Every screen, approved by you before build.
Clickable prototype — Test the experience before code exists.
Technical architecture — Module boundaries, data model, API contracts.
Production application — Built, tested, deployed. Working software.
Full test suite & source code — Yours. No lock-in. Transfer anytime.
In Scope
2–3 core workflows
Up to 3 user types
Standard integrations (payment, email, auth)
Responsive web application
Deployment to your infrastructure or ours
What pushes the timeline
We're not here to build Uber in 14 days. But if your pizza shop needs an ordering app, your agency needs a client portal, or your startup needs V1 — that's exactly what this is for.
Complex business logic (insurance, financial modelling)
Heavy third-party integrations (5+ APIs)
More than 3 user types with different permissions
Real-time features (chat, live collaboration)
Track Record
New method. Decade of proof.
Before specshop.dev, we were Beta Launch — a product engineering consultancy that shipped software across 5 countries for over a decade. We closed the old model because the future isn't selling developer hours. But the thinking, the craft, and the client relationships carry forward.
10 years
Shipping production software
120+
Startups trained & products delivered
5 countries
LK · NL · AU · OM · USA
USAID
Takso · HAL Capital & more
★★★★★
"My hope in the MetJip product was revived after two expensive failed attempts. Many can build — but BL was great at understanding the business requirement."
Aukje LooijmansFounder, MetJip · Netherlands
★★★★★
"A truly special partnership across 4 years. I can trust the team's abilities and humanity. Janaka and team have been a critical part of developing the world-class product that Takso is today."
TaksoCultural Development Platform · Australia
★★★★★
"Beta Launch has been a vital partner to the USAID Catalyze program. The workshops delivered to over 120 tech startups made them highly recommended specialists."
Juan ForeroUSAID CATALYZE Activity Team Lead
Investment
Two ways to start. Both begin with the same 5 days of thinking.
Founding Client Offer — 3 spots available
We're taking 3 founding clients at $5K for the full Spec + Build package. Standard rate is $10–15K. In exchange: a named testimonial and permission to publish your project as a case study.
Start Here
The Spec
$5,000
~5 days
Every user journey mapped
Complete product specification
Full UI/UX design for every screen
Clickable prototype
Yours to keep — take it to any dev team
Recommended
Most Popular
Spec + Build
$10–15K based on complexity
~2–3 weeks
Everything in The Spec, plus:
Technical architecture by our CTO
Revised spec validated against architecture
AI-agent build with human QA at every stage
Three-tier testing (automated + AI + human)
Production deployment
Full source code, test suite & documentation
Complexity guide
$10K — 2 workflows, 1–2 user types, no integrations
$12.5K — 2–3 workflows, 3 user types, light integrations
$15K — 3+ workflows, 3 user types, significant integrations
You approve the design at day 5 — before any code is written. If Stage 1 doesn't meet your expectations, you walk away with the spec and design assets. No hard feelings.
From the Blog
Thinking on specs, AI agents, and building products that work.
Methodology
March 2026
Why "design comes free" isn't a gimmick — it's the byproduct of good spec work
When you map every user journey before touching pixels, the screens design themselves. Here's why separating design from specification creates more problems than it solves.
Read more →
AI Agents
February 2026
An imprecise spec produces confidently wrong software at machine speed
AI coding agents are fast. That's the problem. Without a precise spec and boundary system, they'll build the wrong thing faster than any human team could.
Read more →
Process
February 2026
The three-tier testing system that keeps AI-built code production-safe
Automated tests, AI-assisted end-to-end validation, and human review. Why all three layers exist and what each one catches that the others miss.
Read more →
FAQ
Questions you're probably asking.
Workflow applications with 2–3 core workflows and up to 3 user types. Think: internal tools, customer portals, booking systems, dashboards, SaaS MVPs. If your pizza shop needs an ordering app, your agency needs a client portal, or your startup needs V1 — that's us. We're not building Uber at scale. We'll tell you on the discovery call if your project fits.
We map every user journey in your product. When you've defined who does what, in what order, and what they see at every step — the screens are already implied. The design emerges from the journey mapping, not a separate design phase. The spec, design, and architecture are all internally consistent because they came from the same thinking.
We write the spec. Your job is to explain your business problem and validate the journeys we design. If you can describe what your users need to accomplish, we can map the journeys. You bring the domain expertise, we bring the product engineering methodology.
Then we revise it. Stage 1 exists so you approve everything before code is written. If we fundamentally can't align, you walk away with the spec and design assets. But because the design emerges from journeys we map together, misalignment is rare — you've been part of the thinking at every step.
No. AI agents handle code generation, but every build follows a spec mapped journey-by-journey, architected by our CTO, and bounded by a three-tier safety system. Three layers of testing — automated, AI-assisted, and human-reviewed. A senior engineer signs off before anything ships.
You do. Source code, documentation, test suite — all transfers to you. No lock-in. You can hand the codebase to your own team or another agency the day after we deliver.
Yes. The Spec is $5K and takes 5 days. You can take it to any dev team or bring it back to us for the build. Many clients start with the spec to see the methodology in action before committing to the full package.
specshop.dev is founded by the team behind Beta Launch — 10 years shipping software across Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Australia, Oman, and the USA. We worked with USAID Catalyze, trained 120+ startups, and built products for Takso and HAL Capital. We closed the old model because the future isn't selling developer hours.
Let's Talk
30 minutes. No pitch. Just clarity on whether this is right for your project.
Tell us what you're building. We'll tell you honestly whether it's a fit, what it would cost, and what the timeline looks like. If it's not right for specshop.dev, we'll say that too — and point you in the right direction.
Book a Discovery Call →
10 years shipping products
120+ startups trained
5 countries served