Contriv Design

Est. 2000 · West Friendship, Maryland

The technology team you don't have to hire.

Contriv Design gives small companies the software development, IT guidance and vendor coordination that usually only bigger budgets buy — scaled to what you actually need, and no more.

Founded2000
Based inWest Friendship, MD
ServingSmall business · Public sector
PracticeSoftware · Consulting · Mentorship
First callFree, and under NDA

How we work

Reliable. Experienced. Responsive.

Three words we've had to earn from the same local clients, year after year.

Reliable

We answer, and we finish

Small businesses get dropped by big vendors all the time. You'll deal with the same people from the first call through delivery and support.

Experienced

Twenty-five years of industry experience

Custom software across a range of languages and platforms since 2000 — plus the judgement to tell you when the right answer is something you can buy off the shelf.

Responsive

Sized to your budget

Engagements flex from a few hours of advice to a full build. You're not paying for scope you don't need.

Services

Versatile help, from one place.

Most of our clients don't need a department. They need someone who can take an idea and see it through — and who knows who to call for the parts that fall outside the code.

We do the same work for public agencies looking to modernize.

Custom software development

Applications, integrations and internal tools built to fit how your business actually runs, across multiple languages and platforms.

  • Web and business applications
  • Third-party integrations
  • Maintenance and support

Technology consulting

Guidance from concept to delivery: capturing requirements, sizing the work honestly, and keeping the plan tied to a timeline and a budget.

  • Requirements & documentation
  • Proof of concept
  • Timeline & budget planning

Vendor coordination

A network of providers vetted over twenty-plus years — legal, accounting, design and specialist development — brought in only when your project needs them.

  • Vetted partner network
  • Scoping & introductions
  • We manage the hand-offs

Government & public sector

Technology that helps public agencies modernize the processes they run on — built after we understand the tools and operations already in place.

  • Process modernization
  • Systems assessment & integration
  • Resilient, scalable builds

IT mentorship

Real project experience for students and early-career technologists looking to build a portfolio and understand how the work is done professionally.

  • Hands-on project work
  • Career guidance
  • Interviews welcome

The process

From "I have an idea" to something running.

01

Free consultation

Tell us the idea or the problem. No charge, no obligation, and an NDA if you want the details kept confidential.

02

Capture the details

We document requirements properly, so what gets built matches what you had in mind — and so you own that document either way.

03

Proof of concept

Something you can see and react to, with a defined timeline and budget attached before the larger commitment.

04

Build & support

We deliver, hand over, and stay reachable. Ongoing support scaled to whatever you actually need.

Selected clients

TippBucket
uTour
Hobbes
Exit Premier Realty
Compass, Inc.
Traumma Combat Apparel

A selection of the companies we've built for. Hover to see each in full color.

Next step

The first conversation is free.

Bring an idea, a problem, or a quote you'd like a second opinion on.

Get a quote

Services

High-level work, right-sized.

Five practices that overlap more often than not. Most engagements start in one and quietly borrow from the others.

SectorsSmall business · Public sector
EngagementsProject · Hourly · Retainer
MinimumA single conversation
ConfidentialityNDA on request

01 — Practice

Custom software development

We've been building custom software since 2000, across a range of languages and platforms. That range matters more for a small business than it does for an enterprise: you need the tool that fits the problem, not the one that fits a vendor's licence agreement.

Typical work is a business application, an integration between systems that don't talk to each other, or an internal tool that replaces a spreadsheet everyone is afraid of. We build it, we hand it over, and we stay available for changes.

If the honest answer is that an off-the-shelf product will serve you better, we'll say so — and help you set it up.

02 — Practice

Technology consulting

Do you have a concept and don't know what to do next? That's the question this practice exists to answer.

We help you capture and document the necessary details and product requirements, then guide you through a proof of concept with a defined timeline and budget — so that the decision to go further is made with real information rather than a hunch.

The documentation is yours regardless of who builds it. That's deliberate: it means the engagement is useful even if it ends there.

03 — Practice

Vendor & partner coordination

Over twenty-plus years we've cultivated a network of service providers we trust — legal, accounting, software development, graphic design, and other specialities a project calls for.

When your project needs one of them, we make the introduction, help scope the work, and manage the hand-off so nothing falls between two vendors. You get specialist help without becoming a project manager.

04 — Practice

Government & public sector

Public agencies have the same modernization problems as private companies, with tighter constraints and more people depending on the outcome. Our aim in this work is to give government organizations technology that drives efficiency, transparency and effectiveness.

We start by building an in-depth understanding of the tools and operations already in place — what actually runs, and what people actually do with it. That's usually the difference between a system that gets adopted and one that gets worked around. From there we design and implement the most resilient, effective and scalable solution the constraints allow.

We're committed to building resilient systems and to making sure the technology serves everyone an agency is responsible for — not only the people who administer it.

Capability data

SAM Unique Entity IDDC5EX54NF495
CAGE Code470H8
DUNS086177263

NAICS registrations

CodeDescription
541511Custom Computer Programming Services Primary
541330Engineering Services
541512Computer Systems Design Services
541519Other Computer Related Services
541690Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services

05 — Practice

IT mentorship

We work with students and people early in their IT careers who need real project experience — the kind that produces a portfolio and an understanding of how professional work is actually run.

If that's you, or someone you know, we're happy to schedule an interview.

Next step

Not sure which one you need?

Most people aren't. That's what the free consultation is for.

Start a conversation

About

Small businesses have counted on us since 2000.

Contriv Design is an IT consulting and software development firm in West Friendship, Maryland. Twenty-five years in, most of our work still comes from clients we've already served and the people they send our way.

Founded2000
EntityContriv Design, LLC
LocationWest Friendship, MD
ClientsDozens of local companies

con·trive

(kən trīv′) verb

1. to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent.

The name was the brief

Who we are

Built for the companies the big firms overlook.

Small companies have the same technology problems as large ones — they just don't have a department to hand them to. The usual options are a freelancer who disappears, or a firm whose minimum engagement costs more than the problem.

We were built for the space between. Since 2000 we've given small businesses reliable service and adaptable solutions: a real technology partner, available at a scale that makes sense for a company of ten or twenty people.

The work spans custom software development, consulting from concept to delivery, coordinating the specialists a project needs along the way, and helping government agencies modernize the systems the public depends on. What holds it together is that you're talking to people who have been doing this locally for a long time, and who intend to still be here next year.

What we hold to

Four commitments.

Straight answers

Including the ones that cost us the work. If you don't need what we sell, you'll hear that first.

Confidentiality by default

We'll provide an NDA to ensure the details of your project stay confidential — before you tell us anything.

Nothing you can't afford

Scope is shaped around your budget from the first conversation, not discovered halfway through.

Passing it on

We mentor students and early-career technologists, because someone did that for us.

Next step

Let's talk about what you're working on.

Contact us

Contact

Tell us what you're trying to build.

Consultations are free. If the details are sensitive, ask for an NDA and we'll send one before you say another word.

Phone+1 240.394.5509
Emailinfo@contrivdesign.net
MailP.O. Box 53, West Friendship, MD

Request a quote

Send us the outline.

We'll reply within one business day. Ask for an NDA in the message and we'll send it before we discuss specifics.

Reach us directly

Phone+1 240.394.5509 Emailinfo@contrivdesign.net
Mailing address12800 MD 144
P.O. Box 53
West Friendship, MD 21794
FollowFacebook  ·  LinkedIn

Students and early-career technologists: mention "mentorship" and we'll schedule an interview.