Map it, scope it in writing, then build.

We sit with the people doing the work and write the real process down, step by step, with timings. Not the documented process — the one that actually happens, including the spreadsheet nobody mentions in meetings.

• You get the map whether or not we go further.

One to two weeks, paid. It ends in a written specification, an architecture, a build plan, and a price for the first phase. The document is yours outright and is useful even if you hand it to another team.

• No build starts without one.

Two-week iterations against a board you can see. Every iteration ends with working software deployed somewhere you can use it, and a review session where scope can change.

• You talk to the engineer writing the code.

We take the baseline from the mapping phase and re-measure against it. Cycle time, manual steps removed, rework rate. If a number did not move, that goes in the report too.

• Agreed before the first commit, not after.

Deployment, monitoring, dependency upgrades, and incident response, with a named engineer who already knows the system. A monthly written note on what changed.

• Monthly retainer, cancel with notice.