Least privilege by default
Every user, service and agent receives the narrowest access that lets them do their job. Access is granted explicitly and reviewed, not inherited by convenience.
Delivery model
Five phases, each with an output you can hold
No phase ends with a status update. Each one produces an artefact — a documented process, a written blueprint, a running system, a trained team, a measured improvement.
01
1–2 weeks
Process Audit
We sit with the people who run the process and record how it actually works — including the parts that live in messages, memory and workarounds.
You bring
- The people who do the work, not only the people who describe it
- Access to the current spreadsheets, forms and message threads
- The two or three outcomes that would justify the project
We produce
- A written process map of the current state, including exceptions
- The cost of the current state in time, delay and error
- A prioritised list of what should change first
02
1–2 weeks
System Blueprint
The design: data model, users and permissions, workflow states, integrations, automation opportunities and explicit AI boundaries.
You bring
- Decisions on policy questions the audit surfaced
- Integration owners for existing systems
- Constraints on data residency, access and retention
We produce
- Entity and workflow design with states and ownership
- Role and permission model
- Integration map and automation candidates, with AI boundaries stated
- Fixed scope and delivery plan for the build
03
2–4 weeks
Working Prototype
One critical workflow, running with your data and your users. Not a slide deck, not a clickable mock — a system you can operate.
You bring
- A small group of real users willing to use it in anger
- Sample data from the current process
We produce
- A deployed, usable workflow with real records
- Feedback captured against the blueprint
- A revised build plan reflecting what the prototype taught us
04
6–14 weeks
Build & Integrate
Production build: the full workflow set, integrations with existing systems, migration of live data, access control, testing and staged rollout.
You bring
- A named business owner
- Migration data and integration credentials
- Users for structured testing
We produce
- Production system with role-based access and audit trails
- Integrations to accounting, ERP, email and messaging as scoped
- Migrated data, documented deployment and handover material
05
Ongoing
Operate & Improve
Monitoring, support and a standing improvement cadence — plus the intelligence layer, which usually only becomes valuable once real data has accumulated.
You bring
- An agreed review cadence
- A prioritised improvement backlog
We produce
- Monitoring, backups and staged releases
- Support with defined response expectations
- Iterative enhancements and expanding measurement
Commercial model
Fixed-scope builds and managed software plans
Discovery is a paid, standalone engagement with a defined output you own outright. Builds are quoted as fixed scope against an agreed blueprint. Once live, systems move to a managed plan covering hosting oversight, monitoring, support and a monthly improvement allocation.
- Discovery priced and delivered independently — no obligation to continue
- Fixed scope quoted against a written blueprint, not an hourly estimate
- Managed plans for monitoring, support and continuous improvement
- You own the code, the data and the deployment path
Engineering principles
Constraints we do not trade away for speed
These are not aspirations written after an incident. They are defaults set in the schema and the deployment pipeline before the first screen is designed.
Row-level access control
Authorisation is enforced at the data layer, not by hiding interface elements. A user who cannot see a record cannot retrieve it through any route, including AI retrieval.
Auditability
Consequential actions are recorded with actor, timestamp, prior value and basis. Audit trails are designed in at the schema level rather than added later.
Human approval for consequential AI actions
Agents may read, analyse, prepare and route freely. Actions that move money, create external commitments, change permissions or delete data pass through a person.
Staged deployment
Changes move through development and staging environments with review before production. Releases are reversible and recorded.
Backups and recovery
Automated backups with tested restoration, and a documented recovery expectation agreed before go-live rather than discovered during an incident.
Privacy by design
We collect the minimum data a workflow requires, define retention at design time, and keep personal data out of logs and prompts unless there is a stated reason.
Portable code and data
You own the source and the data, in standard formats, with a documented path to move them. No component of your system exists only inside a tool you cannot leave.
Documented integrations
Every integration has a written contract: direction, fields, failure behaviour, retry semantics and the owner on each side.
Phase one
Every engagement starts with a Process Audit.
Paid, standalone, and yours to keep even if you never build with us. It is the cheapest way to find out whether custom software is genuinely warranted.