Artifact 01
C4 model — context and container
Two-level architecture diagram showing system boundaries, integration points and data flow. PNG and editable source.
05 / Engagement
Engagement · Discovery & Architecture
A buildable plan in two to six weeks.
Most projects fail at the spec stage, not the build stage. Discovery is a flat-fee engagement that produces a real plan: architecture, scope, risks, costs. You can build it with us — or with anyone else.
01
Deliverables
What's in the box.
The list below is the product. Ten artifacts, all real, all designed to be read and used after we leave.
- Architecture diagram (C4 model, levels 1 and 2)
- Architecture Decision Records (5–15 ADRs)
- Scope document with functional and non-functional requirements
- Risk register with mitigation paths
- Cost estimate (people, infra, third-party) — for build and 12 months of ops
- Vendor and tooling shortlist with rationale
- Milestone plan with sequenced deliverables
- Repository scaffold (CI, lint, test, deploy) — optional, M and L sizes
- Executive summary, 5 pages, decision-maker-friendly
- Technical deep-dive, 15–40 pages, engineer-friendly
02
Why discovery
Three things this isn't.
Counter-positioning, in case you've been burned. We've been on the other side of these decks.
- 01
Not a sales artifact you throw away.
We design these so you can build with anyone, including not us. The deliverables read as engineering documents, not marketing decks.
- 02
Not a 60-slide PowerPoint with key takeaways on every slide.
Documents you can grep, diagrams you can edit, ADRs in markdown, cost models in a spreadsheet your CFO can open.
- 03
Not a lead-gen freebie.
It's a paid engagement, scoped tightly. Quality follows price — and we'd rather charge you for a real plan than give you a free one nobody respects.
03
Process
Two to six weeks. Always finite.
A real schedule with real exit points. S-size ships at week four, L-size at week six.
Week 01
Inputs
Stakeholder interviews. Existing system audit (if any). Constraints, deadlines, team, budget — written down where everyone can see them.
Week 02
Architecture
Two architecture options drafted with comparative trade-offs. Diagrams in flight. ADRs taking shape against the constraints from week one.
Week 03
Scope and risk
Risk register with mitigation paths. Cost model across people, infrastructure and third-party. Vendor shortlist with reasons.
Week 04
Synthesis · S-size ends here
Executive summary written. Final review session with you and your team. S-size engagements ship at this point.
Week 05
Repository scaffold
CI, lint, test and deploy pipeline scaffolded against the chosen stack. Skeleton modules and naming conventions set down.
Week 06
Risk prototype · L-size ends here
Working prototype of the highest-risk module. Designed to fail fast if the architecture doesn't hold under real conditions.
04
Sample artifacts
What the deliverables actually look like.
Three previews from real engagements, redacted. Click into any case study for the broader context.
Artifact 02
ADR-007 · Postgres + pgvector over Pinecone
Architecture Decision Record in markdown — context, decision, consequences. The kind of document your team can grep three years from now.
Artifact 03
12-month cost model
Spreadsheet excerpt: people, infrastructure, third-party. Build phase plus first year of operations, broken down per quarter.
05
Pricing
Three sizes. No calls needed to know if you can afford it.
Flat-fee. Reusable as a credit toward a Build engagement within six months.
Size · S
2 weeks
Discovery
€15,000
Best for
Spec a known build
Output
Plan + ADRs + cost model
Size · M
4 weeks
Discovery + Scaffold
€30,000
Best for
Hand-off to in-house team
Output
Plan + repo scaffold
Size · L
6 weeks
Discovery + Prototype
€55,000
Best for
De-risk before commitment
Output
Plan + working prototype of riskiest module
Prices are flat. Reusable as a credit toward a Build engagement within six months.
Booking
Book a 30-minute discovery intro.
We'll spend the half hour mapping your problem to one of the three sizes — or telling you honestly that Discovery isn't what you need yet. No pitch deck.
Have a project that needs scoping?
Tell us what you're trying to build. If Discovery isn't the right shape, we'll tell you that too.