The method

Five stages. Two are analysis. Three are engineering.

The analysis is not the product. It is how a build gets quoted honestly and delivered predictably — so the engineering can be fixed-price without either of us gambling.

Here is every stage: what happens, what you receive, and where the money goes.

#StageWhat the analyst doesWhat you receiveBillable

0Qualification30 minutesUnderstand the ask, judge whether it is a fit, and find out who actually signs.Call notes and an honest read on fitFree

1DiscoveryDays to weeksInterview the people who do the work. Document the process as it actually runs — the spreadsheets and the email threads are evidence, not noise.Problem statement · As-is process map · Constraints registerPhase 1

2RequirementsThe commercial gateDesign the target process and say plainly which parts software changes and which parts people change. Specify every requirement with acceptance criteria. Draw the scope boundary — the out-of-scope list is what makes a fixed price possible.Signed specification, and a build quote priced from itPhase 1

3ArchitectureEngineering beginsData model, service boundaries, integration contracts including their failure modes, and the decisions that are expensive to reverse later. Wireframes for the screens people will live in.Architecture summary · Data model · WireframesPhase 2

4BuildSprintsEngineering against the signed scope: every change on a branch and reviewed before merge; the specification’s acceptance criteria written as automated tests; build, test and deploy on a pipeline; separate staging and production so you see it working somewhere safe first. Logging and error reporting from the first release, because silent failure is the expensive kind. Scope changes are priced and agreed rather than absorbed.Working software in staging each sprint · Test suite · Change log · A status page you can open any dayPhase 2

5HandoffIndependenceDeploy to production, migrate the real data, train the people who will run it, and hand over the repository, the infrastructure and the credentials. Document what was actually built, not what was planned.A system you own outright · As-built documentation · Training · Repository and infrastructure accessIncluded

The analysis scales to the engagement

A small, clear job does not need a six-week discovery, and charging for one would be dishonest. Same discipline, different weight.

Small

One integration or a defined feature. We validate the ask and write acceptance criteria.

2–4 page scope annex

Days, inside the build quote

Medium

A module or a workflow. Focused discovery on one process, then specification.

Short-form FDD

1–2 weeks

Large

A platform, many stakeholders, or a process that carries compliance weight.

Full FDD + architecture

3–6 weeks

You already have a spec

We review rather than redo: ambiguity, missing acceptance criteria, integration gaps.

Review memo + gap list

2–5 days, fixed fee

Rescue

A build already in trouble. What was intended, what exists, what can be saved.

Assessment + options

1–2 weeks, fixed fee

What you own

The document is yours, even if you walk.

Pay for the analysis and you own it outright — the specification, the process maps, the data model. If you would rather build it with someone else, or in-house, take it with you. We can only offer that because the analysis is genuinely the product.

If you've already done the work

Bring your requirements. We won't make you redo them.

Plenty of clients arrive with a specification, a backlog, or an internal analyst. That is a head start, not an inconvenience. We run a short paid review to confirm it is buildable and testable, tell you what is missing, and then get on with building.

See one before you buy one

The functional design document for this practice — this website, its intake, its engagement models — is published in full. Numbered requirements, acceptance criteria, assumptions, and the list of what we decided not to build. It is the same artifact your project would get.

Download the FDD (PDF)No email required.

Bring us a problem, or bring us a spec.

Book a discovery call See the six ways to work