Strategy
Level 5/5
Product strategy
Lvl 5
100%
Product, technology and operations advice that turns a vague ambition into a costed, sequenced plan measured so that your team can execute. In an unprecedented era of digital transformation, we can help you catch the wave.
Overview
Big technology decisions go wrong long before anyone buys or develops software: when the problem is fuzzy, the options aren't compared and the budget is a guess. We turn a vague ambition into a costed, step-by-step plan your team can execute and your board can approve, starting with the people who do the work rather than with the technology.
Our guide Build, buy or extend: how to decide covers one of the decisions we help with most.
Typical engagement
4wks
Stakeholder interviews
12+
Audit
We map the systems you run today, how data moves between them and where it hurts: orders re-keyed from email, web-shop stock that's a day out of date, a month-end that takes nine days. Interviews with the people doing the work find the problems; the systems map shows their causes.
Options
For each problem we compare the realistic options: build something custom, buy third-party software, or extend what you already have. Each is scored on total cost over how fast it can actually bring value to your business, risk and fit with how you work. The recommendation comes with its reasoning, so it can be challenged.
Roadmap
The plan comes in phases, each with a budget and a milestone you can see, sequenced so every phase pays back or reduces risk before the next one starts.
A plan is a starting point, not a commitment to the wrong direction. We work in phases, constantly testing our assumptions against real results. If something works, we build on it. If it doesn’t, we change course, or stop it altogether. We never follow an initial assessment off a cliff simply because it was the plan.
Due diligence
Investors need to know what they're buying. We review the architecture, security, data, code and delivery practices, the team and how well it all scales, score each area, and list the red flags with what fixing them would cost, in language a non-technical board can use.
Board summary
Everything ends on one page: the decision, the cost, the timeline, the payback, the risks and the ask. The detail sits behind it, but the page reads in two minutes.
Process
Listen, map, compare, plan: four to eight weeks from kickoff to a board-ready plan.
Listen
Interviews across leadership, operations and the people doing the work.
Diagnose
Find where structure, time, money and data actually leak.
Plan
A sequenced roadmap with costs, owners and measures.
Support
Stay close through the first quarter of delivery.
Deliverables
A current-state audit, an opportunity map, options with costs, a roadmap and budget, a build-versus-buy analysis, a team and hiring plan, and a board-ready summary.
- Current-state audit
- Opportunity map
- Roadmap and budget
- Build vs buy analysis
- Team and hiring plan
- Board-ready summary
Stack
Interviews and workshops, process and systems mapping, total-cost models, architecture and code reviews, and the tools your teams already use, so the plan fits how you work.
Engineering
Level 4/5
Technical due diligence
Lvl 480%Operations
Level 4/5
Process design
Lvl 480%Strategy
Level 3/5
Vendor selection
Lvl 360%
FAQ
Answers to the questions we hear most often about consulting engagements.
When should we bring in a consultant?
Before a big commitment: a new platform, a replatforming, an acquisition or a budget round. A few weeks of analysis costs little next to a year spent building the wrong thing.
Are your recommendations tied to a product?
No. We're paid for the advice, not by vendors. If the answer is to build, our teams can build it; if it's to buy, we'll help you choose well and negotiate.
How long does an engagement take?
Usually four to eight weeks from kickoff to a board-ready plan: two to three weeks of interviews and audit, about two weeks of options and costs, and a week or two to shape the roadmap and the summary.
Build, buy or extend: how do you decide?
On total cost over three to five years, time to value, risk and fit with how you work. Buying is right when the process is standard, building when the process is how you compete, and extending what you have is often the quickest win.
What does technical due diligence cover?
Architecture, security, data, code and delivery practices, the team and how well it all scales, with the red flags an investor should price in and what fixing them would cost.
How reliable are the cost estimates?
We give ranges, not single numbers, with the assumptions written down. Large IT projects are notorious for overruns, so we plan in phases, each with its own budget and a point to stop or change course.
Can you help deliver the plan?
Yes. Our build team can deliver it, or we can stay on as an independent reviewer while your team or another partner builds.
What do we get at the end?
A current-state audit, an opportunity map, options with costs, a roadmap and budget, a build-versus-buy analysis, a team and hiring plan, and a summary your board can decide on.
All names, companies, people and figures in the examples and illustrations on this page are fictional and shown for demonstration only. They do not correspond to real clients, customers or results.