The challenge
An Indian services company wanted a project management system for its own work, shaped around how its teams plan and track jobs. Rather than sign one large fixed-price contract, it chose to hire dedicated developers in India on a monthly retainer.
The first estimate for a fixed-price build ran to five to six months. That route meant agreeing the full scope before any work began, for an internal tool the company expected to keep refining once people started using it.
Internal tools rarely stand still. Teams spot gaps in the first weeks of use, and priorities move as the business changes. A contract that locks scope early turns each of those discoveries into a change request and a fresh negotiation.
The company wanted a more flexible way to engage: steady development capacity it could point at whatever mattered most that month.
What we built
We did two things. We built the system, and we set up the working arrangement that let it grow in steps. The arrangement is the part this case study can document in detail:
A monthly retainer. We committed a minimum of 65 developer hours every month to the company's project.
Extra hours on demand. When a month needed more work, extra hours were billed as used, at a rate agreed at the start.
Month-end invoicing. Each invoice covered the hours actually used that month, so spending followed the work.
Step-by-step delivery. The project management system was developed in stages against the company's priorities, not handed over in one release.
In practice, we acted as the company's own development team. The company chose what came next, and our developers turned those priorities into working software, month after month.
How it works day to day
Each month starts with priorities. The company decides which parts of its project management system matter most right now, and that list becomes the work for our developers.
Through the month, the dedicated developers build against that list. Because 65 hours are committed as a floor, the company knows capacity is waiting for its requests. If a busy month needs more, extra hours are added at the agreed rate, without reopening the contract.
At month end, the company receives one invoice for the hours used. It can see what was spent next to what was delivered, then set the next month's priorities with both in view.
This rhythm suits a tool that is in use while it is still being built. What people learn from using the system can shape next month's list, instead of waiting in a queue of formal change requests.
The result
The company had its project management system developed in steps, paying for the hours used each month. It never had to commit to a fixed scope five or six months ahead.
The retainer also gave the company steady access to developers who already knew its code and its way of working. That makes it practical to keep improving the system as needs change, without briefing a new team each time.
We are not publishing usage figures or a module list for this project. The documented outcome is the delivery model and the system it produced.
What the research says
India has the developers. GitHub's Octoverse 2024 counted more than 17 million developers in India on GitHub, growing 28% a year, and put India on track to pass the United States by 2028 (GitHub Octoverse 2024). A dedicated team on retainer draws on that pool.
Small steps keep delivery steady. Google's 2024 DORA report found that improving the development process does not automatically improve software delivery without basics like small batch sizes and thorough testing (Google Cloud, DORA 2024). Setting priorities month by month kept this build in small, reviewable pieces.
Working patterns vary. In Stack Overflow's 2025 Developer Survey, 25.6% of respondents in India worked fully remotely and 30.5% worked in person, against 32.4% fully remote across all respondents (Stack Overflow, 2025). When you bring in a dedicated team, agree early how it will work alongside yours.
Where AI fits next
The system does none of this yet; these are options for later. We could add a weekly digest that summarizes project status and overdue tasks for managers. A model could also flag projects whose progress is drifting from plan, for a manager to review before it turns into a delay.
Planning to hire dedicated developers in India?
Before you sign a retainer, settle four questions:
How many hours a month do you need as a floor, and what happens to hours you don't use?
Who on your side sets priorities each month, and how are they passed to the developers?
What rate applies to extra hours, and who approves them?
How will you see what was delivered against each invoice?
Read how we work when you hire dedicated developers from us, or how we handle custom software development. To weigh the options, compare staff augmentation, dedicated teams and fixed price, or browse more of our projects.
More of this kind of work sits under our operations and logistics software.
