Productivity SaaS · 2024 · 10 weeks
Taskboard
A founder with a clear problem, a messy spec and a deadline. We scoped, designed and shipped a cross-platform task-management app in Flutter — on both stores in 10 weeks.
The problem
Jordan Mehta had validated Taskboard — a task manager built around how small agencies actually assign work — with a no-code prototype, and it was creaking. Onboarding broke at around 50 teams, the prototype couldn't do offline, and two competitors had just raised.
The spec we received was a 40-page document mixing must-haves with someday-ideas. The real constraint was a launch window: Taskboard had a partnership announcement scheduled 12 weeks out, and needed a real app in stores before it.
What we did
Week one was subtraction. We cut the spec to the workflows that made Taskboard different — assignment chains, daily digests, and a genuinely fast offline mode — and pushed everything else to a post-launch backlog Jordan controlled.
We built in Flutter against a Supabase backend: one codebase for both stores, with offline sync handled through a local-first queue rather than bolted on later. Every Friday, Jordan had a new build on his phone via TestFlight, which meant scope conversations happened weekly against working software instead of monthly against mockups.
Store submission ran in week nine — early on purpose, leaving a week of buffer for review issues. Apple flagged one metadata issue; the resubmission cleared in two days.
“Cairn took our messy spec and turned it into a polished Flutter app in 10 weeks. The retainer they offer post-launch is honestly the best part — feels like having a senior dev on call.”