Deciding what to build, what to buy and what to leave alone
Software Consulting
We review what you already have running, what it costs to maintain, and what you are about to sign. The outcome is a plan with priorities and an order, not a catalog of possibilities.
Included
What this service covers
Most expensive projects start with a decision made on thin information: buying a platform that doesn’t fit, rewriting something that worked, or building whatever looked easiest first. This engagement exists to arrive before that decision. We review the current systems, talk to the people using them daily, and hand over a document saying what to do first, what can wait, and what is better left untouched.
- A review of the systems you already have running
- Interviews with the people who use them daily
- A comparison between building, buying and leaving it alone
- Cost and time estimates for each option
- A document with priorities and an order of execution
- A second opinion on a proposal you have already received
What it’s for
What changes in your operation
- 01
You decide with the information on the table
Every option comes with its cost, its timeline and what sustaining it afterwards involves — the part quotes usually leave out.
- 02
What isn't needed gets dropped
A good share of what gets quoted in a project does not solve the problem that started it. Spotting that early saves the most money.
- 03
It works even if you don't hire us
The document is yours and is written so any supplier can execute it, not to tie you to us.
- 04
It translates technical into business
No jargon: what costs more, what can be changed later, and what will limit you three years from now.
The costliest mistake
Deciding on the only quote that arrived
Expensive projects rarely get expensive while being built. They get expensive the day the wrong option is signed, with little information and in a hurry, and the cost shows up months later dressed as unforeseen work.
- What usually happens
- They are compared on price, the one thing all three proposals write the same way.
- What we do instead
- Scope, cost of sustaining it and the cost of leaving in two years all get compared.
How the work goes
From the first call to production
The same process on every project, whatever the size.
- 01
Diagnosis
One session to understand the problem, who suffers it and what has been tried. It tells us whether you need a consultancy or just a conversation.
- 02
Fieldwork
We review the current systems, the costs they generate and how people actually use them, which is rarely how it is documented.
- 03
Options and costs
Two or three viable paths with their cost, time and risk, including the option of doing nothing.
- 04
Delivery and follow-through
The document is presented to whoever decides, and we sit in on supplier selection if that helps.
When it applies
Situations this service solves
If one of these sounds familiar, this is probably the service you’re after.
You have three quotes and none of them compare
They go into one table, with what each includes and what each omits, so the decision does not hang on how the proposal was formatted.
Someone is selling you an expensive platform
We check whether the problem justifies the licence, whether a cheaper route exists, and what leaving it costs in two years.
You inherited a system nobody understands
We document what it does, what it depends on and how risky it is to touch, before deciding to keep or replace it.
Plans
What it costs
Prices in US dollars, with the scope written down. If your case fits none of them, that is what the last plan is for.
Second opinion
You already have a quote on the table and want to know whether it makes sense.
$190one-time
Includes · 6
- Review of one proposal or quote
- What it includes, what it omits and what it will cost later
- The specific questions worth putting to the supplier
- Written summary with the recommendation
- A 30-minute session to clear up questions
- Answer within 3 business days
Diagnosis
What you have, what it is costing you and what to do first.
$1,200one-time
Includes · 6
- Review of the systems you already use
- Interviews with the people who use them daily
- Comparison between building, buying and doing nothing
- Estimated cost and risk for each path
- Document with priorities and an order of execution
- Presentation to whoever decides
Technology plan
The map for the next twelve months, with costs and stages.
$2,900one-time
Includes · 6
- Everything in the diagnosis
- Target architecture and the path to reach it
- Estimated budget per stage
- A requirements template so quotes come back comparable
- Criteria for choosing a supplier
- Two follow-up sessions
Retainer
A permanent technical counterpart when there isn't one inside.
Based on scope
Includes · 4
- Agreed monthly availability
- Review of technical proposals and contracts
- Support during supplier selection
- Periodic audit of what is being built
The document is yours and is written so any supplier can execute it, not to tie you to us.
Seasonal pricing, subject to change. The price in your proposal is fixed from the moment you receive it. In USD, local taxes not included.
Also
Services that usually go together
Next step
Which of these do you need?
If you’re not sure, that’s fine too: the first call defines the scope before anyone talks about price.