Engagement Models
Four ways to work together
The commercial shape should follow the problem, not the other way round. Here is how each model works, what it costs you in commitment, and when it is the wrong choice.
Models
Pick the one that fits the problem
We will recommend one on the first call, including when that recommendation is a smaller engagement than you asked about.
Dedicated Product Team
One accountable team, end to end
4–7 people
3 months minimum
A cross-functional team — product, design, engineering — that owns an outcome from discovery through operation. The default when you are building something new and want a single group answerable for whether it works.
Best for
- New products going from nothing to production
- A roadmap track your in-house team cannot staff
- Work where design, engineering and product cannot be cleanly separated
Includes
- Product lead, designer and two to four engineers
- Fortnightly demos against working software
- Specialists rotating in for data, security or infrastructure
- Operation after launch, or handover on your schedule
Embedded Specialists
Depth inside your existing team
1–3 people
Monthly rolling
Named individuals joining your team, working in your process and your repositories. For when you have the team and the roadmap but are missing a specific capability.
Best for
- A capability gap in an otherwise complete team
- Bringing a practice in-house — evaluation, accessibility, platform
- Bridging a hiring gap without pausing delivery
Includes
- Individuals selected against your specific need
- Working in your process, tools and repositories
- Knowledge transfer as an explicit deliverable
- Monthly review against agreed outcomes
Fixed-Scope Delivery
A defined outcome, a defined price
Varies
Per engagement
A specific piece of work with clear boundaries, delivered for an agreed cost. Suitable where the scope genuinely can be pinned down — and we will tell you honestly when it cannot.
Best for
- Migrations, integrations and modernisation with a clear finish line
- Enterprise-readiness bundles unblocking a known deal list
- Audits and assessments with defined deliverables
Includes
- A written scope with explicit exclusions
- A fixed price and a delivery date
- A named change process, priced up front
- Acceptance criteria agreed before work starts
Advisory & Assessment
A decision, not a deck
2–3 people
4–8 weeks
Time-boxed consulting that ends in a costed roadmap, an architecture recommendation or a build-versus-buy call you can act on. Structured to reach a decision rather than to extend.
Best for
- Deciding what to build before committing budget
- Independent review of an architecture or a vendor proposal
- Data and AI readiness assessment
Includes
- Discovery across business and engineering
- Technical spikes on the riskiest assumptions
- A scored opportunity register
- A sequenced, costed roadmap you own
Questions
Commercial questions we get asked
If you are unsure what to build, advisory. If you know what to build but cannot staff it, a product team. If you have the team and are missing one capability, embedded specialists. If the scope is genuinely fixed, fixed-scope delivery. Most clients move between models as the work changes.
Tell us what you are trying to build
A short call with an engineer, not a sales team. If we are not the right fit we will say so and point you somewhere better.