M01-06 · AI-Assisted Software Development

Freelance Software Development Business

Applies freelance business skills specifically to software development engagements. Builds on CORE-08's universal freelance operations with domain-specific skills: scoping software projects, building a developer portfolio, managing technical client relationships, pricing development work, and handling the unique challenges of being your own code reviewer, architect, and DevOps team. Students learn to run a sustainable freelance development practice.

25 Hours

7 Learning objectives

Analyze Bloom's ceiling (?)

4 Competencies

What You'll Be Able To Do

Learning Objectives

Objectives

Depth

Scope a freelance software project: define milestones tied to deliverable features, identify technical risks, and build appropriate time buffers (30-50% for fixed-price work) Apply
Build a GitHub-based developer portfolio with 3-5 pinned projects featuring quality READMEs, live demos, and outcome-focused descriptions Create
Price software development engagements using hourly ($75-150/hr), fixed-price ($5K-50K with milestone payments), and weekly retainer ($3K-8K/week) models with explicit rationale for model selection Apply
Conduct discovery calls that extract technical requirements, identify scope boundaries, and surface hidden complexity before committing to a price Apply
Manage client communication throughout a project: weekly updates with screenshots/Loom recordings, scope boundary enforcement, and change-order processes for out-of-scope requests Apply
Implement self-review practices when no team reviewer exists: AI code review tools, automated linting, security scanning (npm audit), and systematic test coverage Apply
Evaluate effective hourly rate across engagements by tracking all hours (including client communication, DevOps, and revision cycles) against revenue Analyze

Levels: Remember · Understand · Apply · Analyze · Evaluate · Create — highest demands most original thinking.

Core Competencies

What You'll Master

Software Project Scoping

Discovery calls, technical risk identification, milestone-based scope documents, buffer estimation for fixed-price work.

Developer Portfolio & Positioning

GitHub presence, portfolio projects with live demos, outcome-focused marketing, Upwork/platform profile optimization.

Technical Client Management

Weekly updates, scope boundary enforcement, change orders, managing client expectations around technical complexity.

Solo Engineering Practices

Self-review workflows, AI-assisted code review, automated quality checks, being your own QA/DevOps/architect.

Portfolio Artifact

What You'll Build

Freelance Project Simulation — Student executes a simulated freelance engagement end-to-end: discovery call notes, scope document with milestones and pricing rationale, project board, weekly client update emails with screenshots, a change-order response to a mid-project scope addition, self-review checklist, and a post-project financial analysis showing effective hourly rate.

Tools You'll Use

Industry Tools, Not Toy Projects

GitHub

Developer portfolio platform with pinned repos, quality READMEs, and contribution history.

Upwork

Freelance marketplace for finding clients, managing proposals, and building a professional profile.

Bonsai / HoneyBook

Freelance business management for contracts, proposals, invoicing, and payment tracking.

Loom

Async video recording for client updates, feature walkthroughs, and progress demonstrations.

Trello / Linear

Project tracking tools for managing milestones, tasks, and client-visible progress boards.

Toggl / Harvest

Time tracking tools for monitoring hours, calculating effective rates, and generating client reports.

Claude Code

AI-assisted self-review tool for code quality checks when no team reviewer is available.

V0 / Bolt.new

AI-powered rapid prototyping tools for creating client demos and proof-of-concept builds.