The method, written down.
Practical guides I write for Vantic on software, SEO, automation and IT, published on byvantic.com. The long answers to the questions partners ask before the first conversation.
- Jake Volkanovski, Founder
- byvantic.com
- Software, SEO, automation and IT
Five questions, answered in full.
How the work is actually done, set down so it can be checked before anyone signs anything.
Custom software vs off-the-shelf: how to decide (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)
Custom software or off-the-shelf? When buying is the right answer, when building earns its cost, and what owning the code really means once it is built.
How to scope a software project, in writing (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)
How to scope a software project so it can be priced and built: the people, every flow, what it won’t do, discovery, and fixed price or time and materials.
Website redesign without losing SEO: a checklist (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)
How to redesign a website without losing search traffic: what to record first, the redirect map, building on staging, a launch-week checklist, and after.
How to test a backup, and prove it restores (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)
How to test backups properly: how often, why the backup should be picked at random, how to know a restore worked, the 3-2-1 rule, and NAS, cloud or both.
Which business processes to automate first (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)
What business processes can be automated, how to pick the first one, which steps stay with a person, and how to prove an automation before you trust it.
“A fixed price on an unwritten scope is a guess with a deposit.”
“A snapshot nobody has pulled back is a rumour with a filename.”
“Removing the typing is the win. Removing the thinking is the trap.”
The short answers.
Two from each guide. The reasoning is on byvantic.com.
How long does a custom first release take?
Typically six to twelve weeks, counted from a signed scope.
Read the guide: Custom software vs off-the-shelf: how to decide (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)Who owns custom software once it is built?
You should: the code, in a repository in your organisation from the first commit, along with the credentials, the documentation and runbook, and the right to change it.
Read the guide: Custom software vs off-the-shelf: how to decide (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)What should a scope of work include?
The people who will use it and their workflows, the data, sign-in, permissions and payments, integrations, explicit exclusions, release planning, testing criteria, and a price fixed to the document. The section on what it will not do is “the most useful section in any scope, and the one most often missing”.
Read the guide: How to scope a software project, in writing (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)Fixed quote, or discovery first?
Where the idea still needs proving, a discovery phase comes first, because “a fixed quote on an unproven idea is priced on guesses”.
Read the guide: How to scope a software project, in writing (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)Where do redesigns lose search traffic?
In six places: addresses changed with no redirect, pages removed for looking thin, copy rewritten until it no longer answers the question it ranked for, a staging block carried to the live site, internal links routed through redirect chains, and titles, canonicals or structured data lost.
Read the guide: Website redesign without losing SEO: a checklist (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)How should the redirects be set up?
Server-side and permanent (301 or 308), with no chains, kept for at least a year, each pointing to the closest equivalent page rather than the homepage.
Read the guide: Website redesign without losing SEO: a checklist (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)How often should backups be tested?
Quarterly at minimum, with the backup chosen at random, because “the one you would pick is the one you already know works”.
Read the guide: How to test a backup, and prove it restores (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Three copies, on two types of storage, with one off site. The guide treats it as “a rule of thumb rather than a standard”.
Read the guide: How to test a backup, and prove it restores (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)What is a parallel run?
The new automation runs alongside the manual process until the two agree. Only then is the manual version switched off.
Read the guide: Which business processes to automate first (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)What happens when an automation breaks?
It should never fail quietly. “An automation that fails silently is worse than the manual step it replaced.”
Read the guide: Which business processes to automate first (opens byvantic.com in a new tab)
Jake Volkanovski
Founder of Vantic. I pair hands-on engineering with AI to build and run what clients need, faster and to a documented standard. Every engagement is scoped in writing, transparent throughout and handed over complete. The guides set down how.
- 23/23
- All 23 courses completed · Anthropic · Oct 2026
- Approved
- Anthropic
Gentex AU, the Melbourne security and IT business I have owned since 2022, publishes guides too, on how to specify security systems, data cabling and data destruction.
Guides on gentex.au (opens in a new tab)Scoped in writing. Built in the open. Yours to keep.
When the guides have done their job, bring the question they did not answer. Expect a reply within one business day.
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