Where most engagements start
The diagnostic sprint
Two to four weeks. Fixed price. Scope agreed in writing. You get a written diagnosis of what is actually in the way, what it is costing you, and what I would build first.
Plus one working thing, because a document alone does not tell you whether I am any good.
- $15,000 to $35,000, set by scope before we start
- Two to four weeks
- A written diagnosis plus one working thing
- You can start it without a call
What I actually do in those weeks
I read everything. Your systems, your data, your numbers, and how your team actually works rather than how the documentation says they work.
Then I write it down. Not a slide deck. A document that says what is broken, roughly what it is costing, and the order I would fix it in, with the reasoning visible so you can disagree with it.
And I build one thing. Usually the smallest piece that proves the diagnosis is right. That is the part that tells you whether to keep going.
No money-back guarantee. You are buying strategy and the build that follows from it, and I am going to give you both. What you get instead is a price that does not move and a scope we agree before I start.
What you get
A written diagnosis
In plain language, so you can hand it to your own team. What is in the way, roughly what it is costing, and the order I would fix it in, with the reasoning visible so you can disagree with it.
One working deliverable
Not a mockup and not a slide. Whatever proves the diagnosis fastest, running, so you can judge me on output rather than on a document.
A prioritised build order
With rough effort against each item, so you can execute it yourself if that is the right call.
A straight answer
On whether you need me, someone else, or nobody. Roughly half of these do not convert, and that is the system working.
Questions about the sprint
If yours is not here, put it in the form. I answer everything myself.
Can I really start without talking to you?＋
Yes. Fill in the form, I will come back with a scope and a price the same day, and you approve it before anything starts. If you would rather talk first, say so in the form and I will send times.
What if the diagnosis says I don't need you?＋
Then it says that. It happens fairly often and it costs neither of us anything. I would rather tell you in week two than bill you for a year.
Does this roll into an ongoing engagement?＋
Only if it should. Roughly half do. The other half take the document and go build it themselves, which is a legitimate outcome and not a failed sale.
What is the working thing you build?＋
Whatever proves the diagnosis fastest. Sometimes a dashboard showing a number nobody could see before. Sometimes a working slice of the system I am proposing. It is never a mockup.
Who actually does the work?＋
I do the reading, the architecture and the review. My staff carry execution. That split is why the scope is realistic in two to four weeks rather than optimistic.
What does it cost, exactly?＋
Between $15,000 and $35,000, set by scope before we start, and it does not move afterwards. The range is about how much system there is to read, not about how much I think you can pay.
Most engagements start here.
Plenty end here too. You take the document and go build it yourself, which is a legitimate outcome and not a failed sale.
I take limited engagements.