Each model suits a different kind of problem. Read what each one is for, when it fits, and what is agreed before the work starts.
Advisory and architecture
A focused assessment or planning engagement that turns a technology question into a clear, practical decision.
You need to choose a direction before you build, or check the one you are on. We review your current environment, weigh the options and leave you with a roadmap. Where explicitly agreed, this can include fractional CTO support.
Suitable for
- Architecture reviews
- Technology selection
- AI readiness
- Cloud strategy
- Migration planning
Agreed before work starts
- The decision or question the assessment must answer
- What we will review and who will give us access
- The deliverables, such as diagrams, recommendations and a phased roadmap
Fixed-scope implementation
A defined project with agreed deliverables, milestones and acceptance criteria, built and handed over.
You know what you need and can describe the outcome. We agree the scope, the milestones and what done looks like, then build it, so you can plan around a defined piece of work with a clear finish line.
Suitable for
- Data pipelines
- Dashboards
- Integrations
- Bounded AI applications
Agreed before work starts
- The deliverables
- Milestones along the way
- Dependencies on your side and ours
- Acceptance criteria that define done
Flexible engineering
Specialist engineering capacity allocated to an evolving backlog, for work that cannot be fully specified up front.
Your priorities will shift as you learn, so a fixed scope would get in the way. We provide specialist engineering capacity allocated to an evolving backlog, and you steer the priorities as the work progresses.
Suitable for
- Modernization
- Exploratory development
- Ongoing product engineering
Agreed before work starts
- How the backlog is prioritized and who decides
- How progress is reported
- How changes to the arrangement are handled, through agreed change control
Dedicated engineering team
A coordinated team delivering against an agreed roadmap, with defined roles, responsibilities and governance.
Your initiative will run for a long time and needs sustained focus across software, data, AI or cloud. A coordinated team works against a shared roadmap and reports through agreed governance, alongside your own people where you have them.
Suitable for
- Longer-running software initiatives
- Data engineering initiatives
- AI engineering initiatives
- Cloud engineering initiatives
Agreed before work starts
- Roles and responsibilities on both sides
- The governance, including status reporting and escalation
- The roadmap the team delivers against
Proof of concept or pilot
A time-boxed test of whether an idea works, before you commit to a larger investment.
You have an idea that might work, such as an assistant over your own documents or a new platform technology, but committing to a full build without evidence is too large a risk. A pilot answers the question with tested results instead of opinion.
Suitable for
- RAG applications
- AI agents
- New platform technologies
- Streaming analytics
Agreed before work starts
- Success criteria we both sign off before the work starts
- Representative test cases drawn from your real work
- A budget and a fixed time box
- The known limitations, written down
- A decision at the end to proceed, revise or stop
Ongoing engineering support
A recurring engagement for maintenance, operational support and continuous improvement after launch.
Your system is live and you want it kept healthy and improving. We maintain, monitor and improve it under arrangements agreed before support begins.
Suitable for
- DataOps
- Platform support
- Application maintenance
- AI operations
Agreed before work starts
- The scope of what is supported
- Availability
- Escalation arrangements
- Security responsibilities
- Service-level objectives
