How we work
You always know what happens next, what it produces, and what we need from you. You can stop, adjust or continue at every gate.
Discovery before build
Uncertain or multi-system work starts with a paid discovery phase, so estimates rest on evidence.
Success criteria agreed in advance
Pilots are judged against criteria we set together before any code is written.
Your repo, your accounts
Code and critical cloud accounts stay client-owned wherever practicable.
Phase 1 · Discover and plan
A free discovery call about your business goal, how the work is done today, what it costs you, who uses it, the data involved and who decides.
What you get
An honest view of fit and the smallest sensible next step, or a referral if we are not the right team.
What we need from you
A named owner and one concrete example of the workflow, with your own numbers if you have them.
Gate: We continue only when the goal, the business owner and access to data are clear.
Where uncertainty is high, a discovery sprint, assessment or prototype comes first. We confirm feasibility, data, access, dependencies and the skills needed.
What you get
A defined, feasible scope, or the evidence needed to decide on one.
What we need from you
Time with the people who know the work, representative sample data and access to the systems involved.
Gate: Our technical lead signs off feasibility, dependencies and timeline before anything is committed.
A written proposal with scope, exclusions, assumptions, acceptance criteria, third-party costs, support and data terms.
What you get
A proposal you can check line by line, with no surprises later.
What we need from you
A review by the person who approves budget and scope.
Gate: Every proposal is reviewed for feasibility, terms and honest claims before it is sent.
Phase 2 · Design and build
Kickoff with named owners on both sides, access and environments, a communication rhythm, a risk log and a written change-control route.
What you get
A kickoff plan and an agreed first milestone.
What we need from you
Access, accounts and data on the dates agreed in the proposal.
Gate: Kickoff checklist complete and access confirmed.
Delivery in increments with demos, continuous testing, recorded decisions, and scope questions handled through change control.
What you get
Working increments you can see, plus regular status reports.
What we need from you
Timely feedback at each review.
Gate: Each milestone review: demo accepted, tests passing, risks and change requests up to date.
Phase 3 · Deploy and improve
Quality checks, user acceptance in an agreed window against the agreed criteria, and a staged release with rollback ready.
What you get
Test evidence, a recorded sign-off and a safe release.
What we need from you
Acceptance feedback within the agreed review window.
Gate: Sign-off recorded, including performance, security and cost requirements.
Documentation, runbooks, training and handover sessions. Temporary access is revoked, and support or a retainer is set up if agreed.
What you get
A system your team can run, plus a list of known limits and next improvements.
What we need from you
An owner on your side who takes over the system.
Gate: Handover accepted, with a confirmed support route and owner.
Stage 1 starts with a free call.
Why Directrix
Principles that protect your budget, your data and your ability to walk away with everything you paid for.
We begin with one workflow and a named owner, not a technology wish list. Scope grows only after the first delivery proves value.
Before we build, we agree the test inputs, targets and review window that decide whether the work is done.
Business processes run on explicit rules, state and approval steps. Models assist; they do not run unchecked.
AI features ship with test sets, fallback paths, human review for high-stakes steps and regression checks.
The repository and critical cloud accounts stay in your name where practicable, so you are never locked in.
Anything outside the agreed scope goes through a written change request showing the effect on time and cost.
FAQ
Straight answers on how engagements, quoting, ownership and AI quality work.
With a free discovery call to understand the problem, who owns it, your timeline and the systems involved. If there is a fit, we recommend the smallest sensible first step: a discovery sprint or technical assessment when the scope is uncertain, a prototype when one assumption needs proving, or a fixed-scope build when the requirements are clear.
Bring one problem. Leave with a clear next step, whether or not it involves us.
What happens next
Or reach us directly
We reply within 1 business day.
