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Technology advisory

Scoping, second opinions, and reviews of projects already underway.

Advisory is the work where we are paid for an opinion rather than for code, which means the incentive is different: our recommendation is not automatically "hire us to build it".

The most valuable outcome of an advisory engagement is often that you spend less. Several have ended with a recommendation to fix a process, buy an existing product, or simply wait — and that recommendation was worth more than a build would have been.

It is deliberately short and bounded. You get a written answer you can act on or take elsewhere.

This is for you if

  • —You have a quote in front of you and no way to judge whether it is reasonable.
  • —A project is late, and the explanations no longer make sense.
  • —You know something needs fixing but not whether software is the answer.
  • —You are choosing between vendors and every one of them sounds convincing.
  • —You inherited a system nobody fully understands.

How the work runs

PHASE 01

Frame the question

We agree exactly what you need decided — is this quote fair, should we build or buy, why is this project late, what should we do first.

You get: A written question and a fixed scope for answering it.

PHASE 02

Look at the evidence

Documents, quotes, the existing system, and short conversations with the people who use it. Users tell you things that project reports do not.

You get: Findings based on what exists, not on assumptions.

PHASE 03

Written recommendation

A plain-language document: what we found, what we recommend, what it would likely cost, what the risks are, and what to do first.

You get: A document you own and can act on with us or without us.

PHASE 04

Walkthrough

A session to go through it, argue with it, and turn it into a decision. Written recommendations that are never discussed tend to get filed and forgotten.

You get: An agreed next step, or a decision not to proceed.

What's included

  • ✓ A bounded review with a fixed scope and price agreed up front
  • ✓ Independent assessment of quotes, scope and technical approach
  • ✓ Build-versus-buy analysis with the reasoning shown
  • ✓ Risk assessment on projects already in flight
  • ✓ A written recommendation in plain language, no jargon padding
  • ✓ A walkthrough session with your decision-makers

What's not included

  • — Ongoing project management of another vendor's work
  • — Legal or contractual advice
  • — Implementation — that is a separate engagement, by choice
  • — Recommendations shaped to make our own services the obvious answer

Timelines

Most advisory engagements run from a few days to two weeks depending on how much material there is to review and how quickly the relevant people are available.

What it costs

Fixed fee, agreed before the work begins, based on the scope of the question.

A review typically costs a small fraction of the project it is assessing, which is the entire point.

If the recommendation is to build with us, the advisory work is treated as discovery rather than repeated.

Real outcomes

Build-versus-buy reviews

Several engagements have ended with a recommendation not to build custom software, because an existing product covered the need at a fraction of the cost. That is a successful outcome, not a lost sale.

Projects already underway

Reviews of in-flight builds usually surface the same pattern: scope that was never written down clearly enough for anyone to be held to it. Fixing the scope document is often the cheapest possible intervention.

Questions we get asked

Will you just recommend that I hire you?

No, and the track record matters more than the promise here: engagements have ended with buy an existing product, fix the process first, and wait six months. If our recommendation is to build, we will say why the alternatives do not fit, and you are free to take the document to another builder.

What do I actually receive?

A written recommendation in plain language — findings, options, likely costs, risks, and a first step — plus a session to go through it. The document is yours.

Can you review a quote from another vendor?

Yes, that is one of the most common requests. We look at whether the scope is complete, whether the price is reasonable for the work described, and what is conspicuously missing — because what a quote leaves out usually costs more than what it includes.

My project is late and I do not know why. Can you help?

Yes. We look at what was agreed, what has been delivered, and where the gap opened. Sometimes the vendor is the problem; sometimes the scope was never clear enough to deliver against. We will tell you which, even when it is uncomfortable.

How confidential is this?

Entirely. Nothing from an advisory engagement is published or reused, and case studies on this site are published only with the client's agreement.

Is a free consultation the same thing?

No. The free consultation is a conversation to understand what you need and whether we can help. Advisory is paid, bounded work that ends in a written recommendation.

Start with a conversation

No obligation and no pitch deck. Bring the problem; we will tell you what it would take and what you could skip.

Book a free consultation

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