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Process

How an engagement runs

Most engagements run five stages. Each closes with a tangible artefact you keep, regardless of whether you continue to the next.

  1. Discovery
  2. Diagnosis
  3. Design
  4. Build
  5. Handover

Discovery

We start by listening. Stakeholder interviews, current-state review, and a frank read of the problem you brought us. No deliverables here that look like a strategy deck on autopilot; what we write down is what we heard, in your language.

  • Stakeholder map and decision log
  • Current-state architecture sketch
  • Problem brief, signed off by you
01 · 1–2 weeks

Diagnosis

We dig into the system. Where the data lives, where it gets lost, where the manual handoffs are costing you time. Diagnosis ends only when we can name the constraint in one sentence; anything fuzzier means we are guessing.

  • Constraint statement
  • Data lineage and source-of-truth audit
  • Risk register with owners
02 · 1–3 weeks

Design

We propose the shape of the fix. Architecture, sequencing, and the trade-offs we rejected on your behalf. You see the option we picked, why we picked it, and what it costs, before any code is written.

  • Architecture decision record
  • Build plan in two-week slices
  • Cost-to-build and cost-to-run estimate
03 · 1–2 weeks

Build

We implement. Weekly demos against the build plan, a shared dashboard anyone on your team can read, and code that is testable from day one. You always know what shipped, what is in review, and what is next.

  • Deployable staging environment
  • Test suite with coverage on critical flows
  • Per-sprint demo recordings
04 · 4–12 weeks

Handover

We leave your team running the system, not waiting on us. Documentation, runbooks, and a retainer option for the things that need ongoing care. The engagement closes when you can answer 'what does week one of running this look like?' without us in the room.

  • Runbook and on-call playbook
  • Knowledge-transfer workshops
  • Optional retainer scope
05 · 1 week

Communication norms

Standup
30 minutes, working session. We walk through the build plan and unblock in real time.
Weekly
Demo
End-of-stage walkthrough against the deliverables list. You sign off, or we go again.
Per stage
Steering
60 minutes with your leadership. Cost, scope, and risk against the original brief.
Monthly