How we work.
This page is detailed by design. Enterprise procurement teams read it carefully before they engage us. We think that's the right way.
Discovery
Every engagement starts with understanding — not selling. We begin with a free 30-minute call to understand your context: the system you are building, the pain you are experiencing, and the outcomes you need.
If the call suggests a fit, we move to a written scope. This document outlines what we understand about your situation, what we propose to do, and what success looks like. We share this before any commitment.
For complex engagements, we offer an optional 2-week paid discovery phase. During discovery, we go deeper: interviewing stakeholders, reviewing existing architecture, and validating assumptions. Discovery ends with a refined scope and honest assessment of what we can deliver.
"We would rather lose an engagement than overpromise and underdeliver."
Design
Before kickoff, we write down the engagement architecture: goals, success criteria, deliverables, timeline, and evaluation gates. This document is shared with all stakeholders — your team and ours.
Explicit non-goals are part of every scope. We write down what we will not deliver, what is out of scope, and what assumptions we are making. Ambiguity is the enemy of successful engagements.
Success criteria are measurable and agreed in advance. "Better AI system" is not a success criterion. "RAG system with citation accuracy above 95% on your test set, with audit logs meeting RBI requirements" is a success criterion.
"If we cannot write down what success looks like, we are not ready to start."
Delivery
Engagements run on a weekly cadence. Every week includes a progress checkpoint, artifact sharing, and an opportunity to course-correct. We do not disappear for months and emerge with a deliverable.
Working artifacts are shared continuously. Code, documentation, evaluation results — you see what we are building as we build it. No surprises at the end.
Mid-engagement health checks are built into longer engagements. At the halfway point, we formally assess progress against success criteria and adjust scope if needed — in writing, with mutual agreement.
Scope changes happen. When they do, we document the change, estimate the impact, and get explicit approval before proceeding. No scope creep without acknowledgment.
"Artifacts are shared weekly. Progress is visible. Course corrections happen early."
Handoff
Every engagement ends with a handoff package. What you walk away with depends on the engagement type, but typically includes: working code, architecture documentation, operational runbooks, evaluation suites, and train-the-trainer materials.
Knowledge transfer is not an add-on — it is built into every engagement. Your team should be able to maintain, extend, and debug what we build together. If they cannot, we have failed.
IP ownership defaults are clearly stated in engagement terms. For custom work: you own the deliverables. We may retain rights to methodologies and frameworks, but the specific artifacts are yours.
"Your team should be able to maintain what we build. If they cannot, we have failed."
Post-engagement
Every engagement includes a 60-day support window. During this window, we are available for questions, debugging, and clarification on what we delivered. This is included in the engagement fee.
For ongoing capability building, we offer optional retainer arrangements. These are scoped separately and designed for organizations that want sustained access to our expertise.
Your team has ongoing access to our cohort programs. Engineers who worked with us during an engagement can apply to future cohorts at a preferred rate. This connects back to our pTeachTech training infrastructure.
"The engagement ends. The relationship does not have to."
Ready to start with discovery?
The first conversation is free. We'll tell you whether we're the right fit — even if we're not.