Engagement models

Three ways to engage. One delivery standard.

Take our engineers as part of your team, take a pod that owns a workstream, or hand over a scoped build. What changes is who directs the work and who answers for the outcome. The people and the quality bar do not change.

Start a conversationCompare the models

  • Three months

    Minimum initial engagement, whichever model you choose

  • Then monthly

    Rolling after the initial term, with no renewal negotiation

  • 30 days

    Written notice to end or reduce an engagement, either side

  • Two weeks

    Typical time from agreed scope to named engineers working

Choosing

Start from who is going to direct the work.

That single question settles the model. If you have leads with capacity, take dedicated people. If you do not, take a pod. If the work has a defined end, take it as a project.

01Dedicated peopleYour leads direct the work02Managed podsOur lead directs and reports03Project deliveryScope, milestones, a fixed end

In detail

What each model means in practice.

The same eight questions answered for all three, because these are the questions that decide whether an engagement works.

01

Dedicated people

Named engineers allocated to you full time. They work inside your team, in your tooling, to your process, and report into your leads.

  • Your backlog
  • Your tooling
  • Your leads
Who it suits
You have a roadmap and people to direct it. What you are short of is engineering capacity that stays long enough to hold context.
What you control
Priorities, backlog, sprint goals, technical direction, code review standard and the definition of done. You accept or reject the work.
What we own
Employment, line management, leave cover, replacement, skills development and the engineer being available for the hours agreed.
Planning and reporting
Inside your rituals. Your standup, your tracker, your board. We add a short monthly account review covering availability, leave, risks and anything you have raised.
Onboarding
Confidentiality and intellectual property assignment are signed before an engineer is introduced. You grant access. Two weeks from agreed scope is typical, sooner where the stack matches people already free.
If a person is not right
Tell us in the first month. We replace them at our cost and fund a handover overlap so context is not lost. There is no argument about it.
Scaling up and down
Add a role on two to four weeks notice, depending on seniority. Reduce with 30 days written notice, per person, without touching the rest of the team.
How it is billed
A monthly allocation per person, set by role and seniority. Not timesheets in six minute units, and no charge for recruitment, onboarding or replacement.

02

Managed pods

A self-contained unit that owns delivery of a workstream. It carries the disciplines the work needs and one person is accountable for the outcome.

  • Accountable lead
  • Mixed disciplines
  • Delivery reporting
Who it suits
You want a workstream taken off your plate, or you have no lead free to direct engineers. You want to judge a result rather than manage the work.
What you control
Outcomes, priorities between them, and acceptance. You can change what the pod works on at any cycle boundary.
What we own
The plan, the composition of the pod, sequencing, quality, and the delivery itself. A named delivery lead answers for all of it.
Planning and reporting
The pod runs a two week cycle. Each one ends with working software, a written delivery report you can forward to your own client, and a current risk list.
Onboarding
A short discovery maps the estate, the environments and the release path. The lead is named on day one. Pods stand up in two to three weeks.
If a person is not right
Composition is ours to fix. Raise it with the lead and we change the person without changing the commitment or the cycle.
Scaling up and down
The pod grows or shrinks by role at a cycle boundary. Reductions need 30 days written notice. A pod can be paused rather than disbanded if your funding moves.
How it is billed
One monthly charge for the pod, set by its composition. Change the composition and the charge changes from the next cycle, in writing, before it takes effect.

03

Project delivery

A scoped build we own end to end, against agreed milestones, with a fixed definition of done and a warranty after acceptance.

  • Agreed scope
  • Milestone plan
  • Warranty
Who it suits
The outcome is defined, the end is a real date, and your business case needs a number before anything starts.
What you control
Scope, acceptance criteria, sign-off at each milestone, and approval of any change. Nothing outside the agreed scope proceeds without your written approval.
What we own
The estimate, the plan, the architecture, the staffing, delivery to the agreed scope, and the defects found in warranty.
Planning and reporting
A milestone plan is agreed before build starts. Progress is reported against it every fortnight, with assumptions and dependencies tracked in the open.
Onboarding
A short scoping phase produces the scope, the architecture approach, the plan and the assumptions behind the estimate. Build starts on signature.
If a person is not right
Staffing is entirely ours. We change people without changing your milestone dates, your price or your point of contact.
Scaling up and down
Scope changes go through written change control and are estimated before work proceeds. Where the critical path allows it, we add people to protect a date.
How it is billed
Against milestones on an agreed scope, with a warranty period after acceptance. Support afterwards is a separate arrangement, not an assumed extension.

Comparison

The same engagement, side by side.

Where the models genuinely differ, and where they do not.

DimensionDedicated peopleManaged podsProject delivery
Best whenYou have leads and a roadmap, and need capacity that staysYou want a workstream owned and reported onThe outcome and the end date are both defined
Directs the day to dayYour leadsOur delivery leadOur delivery lead
Owns the planYouUs, against your outcomesUs, against agreed milestones
Process and toolingYoursYours where it exists, ours where it does notOurs, with your reporting format
ReportingInside your rituals, plus a monthly account reviewWritten report each two week cycleMilestone progress each fortnight
AcceptanceYour definition of doneYour acceptance at cycle endMilestone sign-off against criteria
Changing a personFree replacement, with handover overlapOur call, no change to the commitmentOur call, no change to dates or price
Adding capacityTwo to four weeks by seniorityBy role, at a cycle boundaryThrough written change control
Commercial shapeMonthly allocation per personOne monthly charge for the podMilestone based on agreed scope
Minimum termThree months, then monthlyThree months, then monthlyLength of the agreed scope

Commercial terms

Nothing in the contract you have not already been told.

The terms are the same for an agency reselling our capacity and for a direct client. We do not run two commercial standards.

Term and notice

Three months minimum, then month to month. Thirty days written notice ends or reduces an engagement, from either side.

  • No automatic annual lock-in
  • Reductions apply per person, not to the whole team
  • Notice served in writing, no escalation process to survive

People and replacement

You get named engineers, not an anonymous pool. If someone is not right, replacing them is our cost and our problem.

  • Profiles and seniorities before you commit
  • Replacement funded by us, with a handover overlap
  • No undisclosed subcontracting to a third party

Confidentiality and ownership

Confidentiality and intellectual property assignment are signed before anyone is introduced to your systems or your client.

  • All work product assigns to you
  • Access granted and revoked by you
  • Your client is never approached by us

Pricing

Pricing is set by model, role and seniority, and it is agreed on a call rather than published. We quote the whole engagement, including the parts other suppliers bill separately.

  • One rate per role for the term, agreed in writing
  • No charge for recruitment, onboarding or replacement
  • Any change priced before work proceeds

Starting an engagement

What happens between the first call and the first delivery cycle.

The model is settled on the first call, the paperwork is closed before day one, and the engagement is judged on the first cycle of delivered work.

  1. 01

    Scoping call

    Thirty minutes on the work, the constraints and the shape of team it needs. We will tell you which model fits, including when the answer is none of them.

    Day one

  2. 02

    Named proposal

    The engineers by name and seniority, their availability, the start date and the terms. Written against your requirement rather than a bench list.

    Within three days

  3. 03

    Paperwork and access

    Confidentiality, intellectual property assignment and the engagement terms signed. You provision access to repositories, environments and tooling.

    Before day one

  4. 04

    First delivery cycle

    Work starts inside your process. You judge the engagement on what is delivered in the first cycle, not on a reference call.

    Week one

Next step

Tell us who is directing the work.

Send the requirement, the stack and the timeframe. You will get the right model, named engineers and a start date, with the terms in the same message.

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