DISCIPLINE 02 · BACKEND
Backend Development
Server-side systems built for throughput and predictable failure. APIs, auth, real-time processing.
DURATION
6–14 weeks
GATES
4 phases
ENGAGEMENT
Fixed or retainer
STACK
Express · TypeScript · Node.js
What you get
Six artefacts, all of them yours on delivery. No phase closes without its output.
- 01Running service in your cloud account, deployed by us
- 02OpenAPI schema covering every public endpoint
- 03Integration test suite wired into your CI
- 04Runbook: failure modes, alert thresholds, escalation
- 05Load test results against agreed throughput targets
- 06Handover session recorded, with architecture decision records
Tooling
RUNTIME
Node.js 20 LTS, pnpm workspaces
FRAMEWORK
Express 5, Zod for boundary validation
DATA
PostgreSQL via Prisma, Redis for cache and queues
OBSERVABILITY
OpenTelemetry traces, structured JSON logs
TESTING
Vitest unit, Supertest integration, k6 for load
Timeline
01
Discovery
1–2 WEEKSTraffic profile, data model review, constraint audit
02
Architecture
1–2 WEEKSService boundaries, schema, deployment topology
03
Delivery
4–10 WEEKSEndpoints shipped behind flags, weekly staging deploys
04
Operate
ONGOINGAlert tuning, incident response, capacity review
WHEN NOT TO USE THIS
You need a frontend built — that is FULL-STACK, not this.
The bottleneck is a slow query, not the service layer. Start with DATA.
You want a proof-of-concept to throw away. This process is for systems you intend to run.