01Engagement models
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Fixed-bid
Where the scope can be specified: a defined deliverable at a defined price, with written requirements and acceptance criteria before work starts. Change requests move scope, not the deadline's meaning.
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Retainer
Where the work is continuous: operation, maintenance, and engineering capacity over time. A named owner, a standing review cadence, and a queue the client controls.
02How an engagement runs
1. Spec and constraints
You send the spec and the deadline. We send back what it takes to reach the final phase — including the parts of the spec that turn out to be in tension with the deadline.
2. Written plan
Requirements, acceptance criteria, and milestones on paper before code. On a fixed bid, this document is the contract's second half.
3. Build in the open
Regular demos against real environments, not mockups. Problems surface during the build, at build-time prices.
4. Handover or operate
Documentation, runbooks, and a clean handover — or we keep operating it under retainer. Both are first-class outcomes.