PROCESS

Five gates. Nothing moves on a verbal.

Every engagement runs through the same five gates, each named for a stage of metalwork, each closing on a written deliverable. You always know where the work stands, because it's written down.

  1. 01 · 2–4 WKS

    Assay

    Discovery. We interrogate the idea: the problem, the users, the constraints, what already exists, and whether software is the right answer at all. Fixed fee, and the fee is the same whichever way the recommendation goes.

    You receive

    • ·WRITTEN RECOMMENDATION — BUILD, OR DON'T
    • ·PROBLEM AND SCOPE DEFINITION
    • ·RISK REGISTER
    • ·FIXED-PRICE QUOTE, IF BUILDING

    Gate closes when: You hold a written recommendation and, if it says build, a fixed price against it.

  2. 02 · 2–4 WKS

    Smelt

    Architecture. The system is designed on paper before anyone opens an editor: data model, service boundaries, infrastructure, and the written spec the fixed price is pinned to.

    You receive

    • ·SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DOCUMENT
    • ·WRITTEN TECHNICAL SPEC
    • ·STACK AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
    • ·DELIVERY SCHEDULE WITH GATES

    Gate closes when: The spec is signed. Nothing gets built that isn't in it.

  3. 03 · 4–7 MO

    Cast

    Build. Senior-led implementation against the spec, delivered in weekly or fortnightly increments you can see running. Demos every cadence; surprises never.

    You receive

    • ·WORKING SOFTWARE, EVERY CADENCE
    • ·DEMO AT EACH INCREMENT
    • ·REPOSITORY ACCESS FROM DAY ONE
    • ·RUNNING DOCUMENTATION

    Gate closes when: The spec is implemented and every increment has been demonstrated live.

  4. 04 · 3–6 WKS

    Temper

    QA and hardening. Load, security, and failure testing — the system is stressed on purpose so production doesn't do it by accident.

    You receive

    • ·TEST REPORTS — LOAD, SECURITY, REGRESSION
    • ·HARDENING CHANGELOG
    • ·RUNBOOKS AND INCIDENT PLAYBOOKS

    Gate closes when: The system survives what we throw at it, and the evidence is written down.

  5. 05 · ONGOING

    Finish

    Deploy and support. Production cutover, handover, and — if you want it — a support agreement with named response times. You own the repos and every artifact either way.

    You receive

    • ·PRODUCTION DEPLOYMENT
    • ·FULL HANDOVER — REPOS, DOCS, CREDENTIALS
    • ·OPTIONAL SLA WITH NAMED RESPONSE TIMES

    Gate closes when: It runs without us in the room. Support continues only if you choose it.

HOW WE CHARGE

Fixed-fee discovery

Assay is priced before it starts. It ends in a written recommendation — build, or don't — and the fee is the same either way.

Fixed price against written spec

The build is quoted against the spec produced in Smelt. If it's not in the spec, it's not in the price — and the spec is yours either way.

Monthly per engineer

For embedded teams and long-running work: a flat monthly rate per engineer, senior-reviewed, with the same demo cadence.

NEVER HOURLY — KEEPING THE INCENTIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TABLE.

Bring us the raw idea.

Discovery is a fixed fee. The recommendation is honest — even when it's “don't build.”

Start discovery