FAQ
Candid & transparent – that’s how we roll
Our Company
Who is Skeleton Key?
- We’re a team of smart, dedicated people who get things done.
- We’re also a privately-owned, St. Louis-based company that was founded in 2002.
- We develop and implement custom business software.
- And even though we’re an accomplished, stable, and growing company, sometimes we still feel like a teenager/startup.
What‘s Skeleton Key’s financial health?
- Solid.
- Debt-free. While we have occasionally used financing as a tool to fund our growth and expansion, we’ve paid off every loan several years ahead of schedule.
- An open book. In 2009 we adopted The Great Game of Business as a model for educating our owners and employees about the economics of running a healthy business, and we’ve been an Open Book company ever since.
- Growing. As of year-end 2020, we’ve created top-line revenue growth in nine (9) of the last ten (10) years, and sustained profitability for all ten (10).
What‘s Skeleton Key’s client base like?
- Diverse.
- Our clients vary by industry, size, geography, and ownership structure, and provide products and services both for-profit and not-for-profit.
- For the sake of stability, we aim to keep our largest clients at less than 10% of our total revenue and we welcome a mix of client types and project sizes to hone our adaptability.
What‘s Skeleton Key’s culture like?
- Collaborative.
- Have you ever pitched in to help with a theater production for a local school or a community arts organization? If so you probably noticed a few things, such as an eclectic mix of people with varied experiences, banding together to create something impactful. The productions they staged were almost always a mix of ‘hard’ sciences (aka ‘stagecraft’) and ‘softer’ ones (aka ‘drama’). The ‘crew’ and the ‘talent’ had to collaborate closely in order to meet both the practical and aesthetic requirements of the show. Most likely, you experienced the challenges of competing priorities and interdependent timetables. Odds are you engaged in some wrestling with the budget, and were forced to overcome all sorts of constraints in the availability of time and resources. Nonetheless, when the curtain went up, usually on time (or close to it), everything that needed to be done somehow, someway got done, and the result was at times almost magical.
- That’s sort of how we experience things and work here at Skeleton Key – as an ensemble, with guest collaborators (i.e., our clients and their other vendors or partners), and with the determination and confidence that we’re going to create an impactful and enjoyable outcome for everyone involved as we pursue and then achieve each project’s goals.
- We may have to improvise at times, but we’re a team with proven processes, great communication, and really intelligent people. We can do wonders.
Who leads Skeleton Key?
- The company has been led since its inception in 2002 by Mark Richman, the President and Founder.
- Greg Lane, who joined the Skeleton Key team in 2007, soon became the VP of Application Development.
- In 2019, three (3) additional team members rounded out our inaugural ‘leadership team’ – Alan Kirtlink (who joined SK in 2007), Chad Adams (who joined SK in 2009), and Jay Sayers (who joined SK in 2015).
- Despite all of the aforementioned titles and roles, Skeleton Key is led by evaluating the best ideas we can gather from our team members and then passionately debating our choices.
- While our leadership team will ultimately make the decisions, we strongly subscribe to the belief that ‘All of us are smarter than any one of us.’ and that we’d be fools to overlook any input or insights from our intelligent colleagues.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Strengths: We’re intelligent, extremely candid, effective, clear, and comprehensive in how and when we communicate.
- We’ve also got a pretty good sense of humor.
- We can build things quickly, almost insanely so at times, and we’re highly adaptable to new situations, business models, and client needs.
- Weaknesses: We’re optimistic, confident, and oftentimes correct, which can sometimes embolden us to keep doing things the same way. That can stifle our own internal innovation, which (ironically) we preach and enable for our clients.
- We are not ‘order-takers’ and we don’t just ‘build-to-spec’. We actively engage to find the best solution for our customer’s specific situation.
Our People
Total project staff?
- We currently have fifteen (15) team members who regularly work on projects in one capacity or another.
- All are full-time employees who are based in the U.S.A.
- They’re supported by three (3) additional team members who occasionally work on projects, but who otherwise provide operational and strategic support.
Professional development activities?
- Our team is always learning.
- One of the ways we do this is by requiring all members of our team to attend or present a session at one or more events each year, such as the monthly FileMaker Meetup that we host here in St. Louis (and which is now virtual as well), or at the annual Claris Engage conference, or at the annual PauseOnError conference.
- We also encourage our team members to write technical blog posts and white papers for our technical colleagues, which often require a deeper dive into a technology than absolutely necessary for our day to day work.
- Each year our entire development staff gets certified in the newest version of the Claris FileMaker platform.
- We subscribe to several training resources as well, and managers work with every employee to ensure that pursuit of training is part of everyone’s career advancement plan.
Typical hours worked per week?
- Typically, Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM CT to 5:30 PM CT, give or take.
- Our team will work on the weekends or evenings only when planned maintenance or client deployments require us to do so.
- We build and maintain things to avoid true emergencies, but when they happen, we’ll fix it no matter what day or time it is.
- Our full-time developers typically aim to make 30-35 hours of progress on development projects each week.
- Both internally and externally our goal is to pursue projects at a sane and sustainable pace, so everyone (e.g., team members, clients, and vendors) can unwind each evening and weekend to enjoy our families, hobbies, and the fruits of our labor.
Where do your employees work?
- Wherever they can be the most productive.
- Before COVID-19, half of our team already worked from home and the other half worked from our office, headquartered in St. Louis. As a result, we were already well-versed in the technology that lets distributed teams collaborate effectively.
- Many of our clients are located a far distance from both our employees and our office in St. Louis, so most of the work we do is done remotely.
- We do visit some client sites, especially for consulting projects, where an onsite experience can be hugely educational, or if a client’s offices are located near a member of our team.
Our Sales Process
What’s the purpose of the first call?
- To gain a simple understanding of the business problem you’re facing, so we can collectively determine if we’re a good fit to help you solve it.
- We have a lot of confidence in our team’s abilities and their intelligence, as well as the power and potential in our selected tools and platforms, but we recognize that what we have to offer might not be a good fit for every client. Similarly, not every client or possible project that comes across our desk is a good fit for Skeleton Key.
- You can expect some very candid questions about your business problem and why it needs solving now (and not 6 months ago, or 6 months from now), as well as questions about your timetable, your budget, and your decision-making criteria and process.
Do you have a reference that I can call?
- Several.
- We like to give them a fair warning before we make an introduction, so we know they’re available, and so they know it’s coming and make time to respond in a timely manner.
- We also like to find relevant references (e.g. a non-competitive client in a similar or complementary industry, or a client whose needs or solution feels similar to yours).
- We usually send over references after we determine that we are a good fit for you and your project.
Will you sign my NDA?
- Yes, but only after we conduct an initial phone call and make sure there’s no unavoidable conflict of interest or unexpected circumstance. We take privacy very seriously.
- If you don’t have one, we can offer you ours, which is mutually binding, making it much easier for us to share examples of work we’ve done for other clients, so you can see what we’re capable of delivering.
Does Skeleton Key do fixed-bid proposals?
- Yes.
- Whether we charge a fixed price for our work or bill it hourly, we consider the scope to be the scope, and we plan ahead (and thus budget) for change orders.
- You might think of it as being ‘fixed-bid, variable scope’ with a sidecar of ‘reality’.
- That said, we’re unlikely to provide a fixed-bid for something that we‘ve not yet had a chance to discuss and understand. If you’re looking to send us an existing specification and have us simply read it and send you a price, please don’t trouble yourself.
Can Skeleton Key take over my existing custom software?
- Oftentimes, yes, but it depends.
- First and foremost, we have to be fluent in the language or we won’t be able to take it over with confidence.
- Second, we have to be confident that we’re not inheriting a problem that can’t be fixed, or nobody will be happy with the outcome. This is why we offer a reasonably priced ‘Code Audit’ consulting project specifically designed to give us the lay of the land prior to taking over an existing solution.
What’s your policy on copyright and intellectual property?
- Rational.
- In short, our default posture is that you own the specific assembly of code that we create for you and that we all recognize that existing code (both ours as well as from the development community writ large) has invariably been contributed to the effort.
- That said, we’re also fans of a statement attributed to Picasso – “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” in that we do our best to incorporate the lessons we learn in every encounter and every project into our next encounter and next project, for a specific client between projects, across clients, and across industries.
- While we will never violate trade secret protections, we also recognize that we can’t unlearn or forget what we’ve learned or experienced, so we try our best to leverage that knowledge for every client and project.
What if I’m not ready for development?
- That’s OK.
- Most if not all of our relationships start out with a simple series of no-strings-attached conversations intended to determine where you need help and if we can be of service.
- After that, we typically recommend a consulting project as a prerequisite to any formal development activity.
- We subscribe to a simple maxim: ‘plan the work, then work the plan’. Our consulting projects are designed to help define that plan.
What steps are involved in the creation of custom software for my business?
- Several.
- First, we’ll start with our no-strings-attached sales process, where we make sure we’re a good fit to help you and size up the challenge and the best way to start.
- Our first project will almost always be some form of a consulting project, to gather the information we need so we can collectively plan for what we’re going to do.
- Once that’s done, we can move on to developing, whether that’s modifying an existing solution or creating a new one.
- After deployment, we turn our efforts to solution management, through hosting and support, and planning for whatever comes next.
- We discuss this whole topic in excruciating detail on our Process page.
Project Approach
What’s the typical team size?
- Consulting project teams typically include two (2) people from Skeleton Key, e.g., a Project Owner and a Collaborator.
- Development project teams typically include four (4) people from Skeleton Key, e.g., a Project Owner, a Developer, a Tester, and a Project Coordinator.
- For larger projects, we might add additional Developers or Collaborators, especially when we see a need for a specific domain or subject-matter expertise.
- Every project team of any kind will always include at least one (1) client member, e.g., the Product Owner, who acts as our primary point-of-contact and speaks for the client organization.
- Often a project team will also have third-parties in the mix, e.g., the Client’s outsourced IT Provider.
What roles do people have on project teams?
- Several.
- The Project Owner, who is ultimately responsible for the success of the project.
- The Developer, who will do the lion’s share of the hands-on coding work during a development project, working closely with and under the guidance of the Project Owner.
- The Tester, who will perform quality checks on the software to ensure it works as designed and to ferret out any bugs or inconsistencies before we release the software to the client.
- The Project Coordinator, who helps projects get off to a good start, and then provides support to Project Owners to ensure their projects keep running smoothly.
- The Product Owner, who owns the result of our work, builds consensus within the client team and makes decisions about the project in collaboration with the Project Owner.
- A Collaborator, which is a generic term for any additional Developers, client team members, or vendor team members that join the project team to fulfill specific needs.
- We discuss this whole topic in excruciating detail in our Process page.
What’s my role and responsibilities?
- To speak up, early and often.
- Clients will typically fulfill the Product Owner and Collaborator roles, but occasionally we encounter a client who is a ‘Citizen Developer’, and they become a part of our development team for a particular phase of a development project.
- You (the client) are the one who knows and understands your business the best. Without you, we have no idea if we are building the right thing. Your involvement will include, at a minimum, weekly calls or meetings.
Can I adjust the plans or features as we go?
- Absolutely.
- That said, there will likely be implications for both the budget and the timetable if you do, but don’t let that silence you.
- Our goal is never to limit communication about potential changes, and the earlier the better, so we’d rather field these ideas and consider them than ignore them and risk they will become more costly to accommodate later.
Can I see what you’re doing on a regular basis?
- Absolutely.
- Transparent communication and your consistent feedback is a cornerstone of our development process.
- We strive to release testable or working versions of our software as frequently as possible, often every two (2) weeks.
- In addition, our design and development process is highly collaborative, and often involves the creation of informal wireframes and mockups, to help everyone visualize what will be built, or even live edits to the solution that is under development, so you can see the impact of your decisions in real-time.
What happens when you’re done?
- We’ll tip our hat to you, wink knowingly, then turn our trusty steed around and gallop off into the sunset 😉
- More seriously, we stay in regular contact with the Product Owner and monitor the status of your newly deployed solution to ensure that everything is working as expected. If any issues come up, we address them quickly and completely within the terms of our warranty.
- We’ll also start the process of curating and planning around your project roadmap, i.e. the backlog of ideas and requests that were discussed but either de-prioritized or postponed for future phases of work.
What QA processes do you have in place?
- Plenty.
- First, we budget both time and money for testing, which means allowing for both our own pre-release testing and yours.
- The Developer is never the only one testing their work, i.e., we always require the Project Owner or a designated Tester to formally test all features prior to releasing testable or working software to a client.
Do you code everything from scratch?
- Often, but not always.
- Notable exceptions include our starter template, which contains useful elements and snippets of code that we find useful on almost every project, and for which we grant you an unlimited license to reuse, copy and disseminate as you see fit.
- We also sometimes bundle or assimilate proven and properly licensed commercial solutions or publicly available source code into our own software, to add needed functionality in less time and at a lower cost for our clients.
Costs & Schedule
What type or size projects does Skeleton Key take on?
- All types, and most sizes.
- At the ends of the spectrum, we engage in a few consulting projects each year that are just a couple of hours long, while we also have several development clients who regularly consume 100s if not 1,000s of hours of services each year.
- Our Services & Pricing page describes the different types of projects we conduct, as well as the range of potential costs, team sizes, and durations.
How much will my project cost?
- As much as it should, and rarely less. Occasionally, a bit more than originally estimated. The real question is: how much is your project worth?
- We believe that what we do is provide useful services and software that deliver value to your business. If we’re delivering value, we’re helping you save or make money, in some way, either now or in the future.
- We recognize that value can be measured in many ways. Perhaps you save time and get to spend more time with your loved one, or you see missed opportunities to grow faster or reduce expenses. We’ll make sure to ask lots of questions about both your tangible, measurable goals and the intangible ones as well.
- Our goal is to help you optimally invest in the right amount of useful services and software to maximize your return. That can be a tricky target to hit, but we’ve got pretty good aim most of the time.
Are your Software Consulting project fees included in the Development project price?
- No.
- Our process typically begins with an initial Software Consulting project, which allows us to create a more accurate plan for addressing your current challenge or building your desired solution.
- While the cost of that initial Software Consulting project is not included in the estimated cost of a subsequent Development project (or effort), we’ve found that this initial investment almost always pays for itself when it comes time to start the next phase of work, by limiting unexpected change orders, avoidable misunderstandings or unnecessary features.
How long does a software project take?
- As long as needed.
- Based on our data, commonly two (2) to four (4) weeks longer than we initially think it will, but not for reasons entirely within our control.
- We estimate on paper (or its digital equivalent) and the real world takes place in the real world. Weather happens. Kids get sick. Meetings get canceled or bumped. And while we do this for a living, you don’t, so while we can give you a pretty accurate estimate about how long a project should or could take, in the real world it will actually take a bit longer.
- Projects around here are typically measured in days, weeks, or months, with the bulk falling into the ‘4 to 6 weeks’ pile. This allows us to put our software to work for you in very short order.
- Regardless, we always finish what we start, and we’re proud to say that over 99% of our projects get successfully deployed.
Who pays for bugs?
- During a development project, you do.
- After a solution ‘goes live’, we provide a 90-day warranty. During this period, any bugs you find are fixed for free, i.e., we foot the bill.
- We build testing into every estimate or bid, so we’ll be sure to have adequate time and money to test our software thoroughly, both before you touch it and before you deploy it.
What are your payment terms?
- For most of our agreement, the terms are 100% prepaid, especially for new clients.
- For larger projects, we typically break the fee up into milestone payments, to help spread the costs of the project across its expected duration.
- Once we’ve established a good working relationship and have some time under our belts, we typically extend Net 15 terms to all of our clients, allowing them to start projects on demand and without having to wait for any checks to clear.
Does Skeleton Key offer any guarantees?
- Yes.
- Everything we build is warrantied to perform as designed and tested for a period of no less than 90 days from the ‘go live’ date. If a bug crops up during that time, we’ll fix it at no additional charge.
- We also guarantee that we’ll always tell you the truth and treat you fairly. We earn trust by being trustworthy.
Project Experience
How successful are your projects?
- Pretty successful. Sometimes wildly so.
- Our best measure for this success is our repeat business rate, which varies from 65 to 75% year-over-year. Our clients find so much value in what we do that, more often than not, they keep coming back for enhancements to their initial solution. Alternatively, some clients come back for new solutions that solve other business problems.
- Our next best measure is our project deployment percentage, which exceeds 99%. The overwhelming majority of the projects that we start actually get finished, deployed, and adopted by the clients that partner with us. In an industry that is plagued by failure, we’re extremely proud of our ability to deliver on our promises.
Have you ever failed on a project?
- You bet.
- We’ve been in business for a long time, and while we’re very proud of our track record, there have been a few bumps along the way.
- Fortunately, we’re extremely good at documentation and tend to retain our employees over the long term, which allows us to learn from our mistakes and avoid repeating errors that are under our control.
- On the other hand, every client and every project is unique, which means new variables are introduced all the time. This is where our Process comes in – it’s optimized to ensure clear communication and a high degree of collaboration, which helps us avoid future problems.
- Regardless, technology is not infallible, and it keeps changing, which is both good (new capabilities) and disruptive (obsolescence). No matter what happens, we’re committed to helping our clients make it through the inevitable challenges and obstacles that pop up along the way, either during projects or afterward.
What technologies and languages do you work with?
- We’re experts in all versions of the Claris FileMaker platform.
- We’re experienced in leveraging workflow orchestration tools like Claris Connect, Zapier and IFTTT.
- We’re also well-versed in a number of complementary technologies, such as PHP, JavaScript, SQL databases, and assorted REST APIs and Web Services.
What industries have you worked with?
- Sometimes it feels like all of them.
- The mix of project sizes and types that we attract has introduced us to clients in almost every imaginable industry or business sector. When we survey our client list, we count doctors, engineering firms, energy collectives, school districts, manufacturers, creative agencies, construction companies, and more in the mix.
- Interestingly, while each of our clients encounters unique challenges for their company, these exist within a host of problems that are common to their industry and an ocean of issues that are common to all businesses. Our broad exposure allows us to cross-pollinate solutions across disciplines for a ‘best of’ result.
- Looking for something specific? Here are just a few examples:
Hosting & Monitoring
Do you have experience with cloud hosting?
- Yes. Volumes.
- We host solutions for dozens of our clients, each running on a dedicated virtual host at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
What’s included in the hosting package?
- Everything you need, including peace of mind.
- Our hosting packages include a specifically sized AWS instance, a generous amount of storage, unlimited bandwidth, 24-hour monitoring, regular management of updates, periodic maintenance, and free troubleshooting related to connectivity issues, solution security, data integrity, and uptime.
Does Skeleton Key have security standards and policies?
- Yes.
- The most visible one is that we never exchange credentials for client systems or solutions over email or other insecure channels.
- The rest we’d be happy to discuss with you ‘offline’, because how secure would they be if we published them here, in this FAQ?
What’s Skeleton Key’s approach to disaster recovery?
- We subscribe to the mantra that ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’
- We take steps to ensure that we have access to proven data backups and snapshots and that proactive maintenance is performed regularly.
- In most cases, a sustained outage can be mitigated easily. We can typically spin up a replacement server and restore a recent backup in under an hour.