Initial technical diagnostic

Tell me what is stuck and I will tell you what I see.

A short, bounded review of your technical and operational situation. It is not a full audit, and it is not a sales pitch in disguise: it is half an hour of serious conversation and, if needed, a few days of work on my side to understand the ground before you decide anything.

Tell me what you need to unblock

The first call lasts 30 minutes and costs nothing. I do not close a price or a timeline on it: first I understand the situation.

What it is

A short, bounded review with a single question behind it

The initial technical diagnostic answers one question: what is the real problem, and what should be done about it?

It starts with a 30-minute call where you tell me the situation and I ask questions. I do not prepare a deck, I do not bring a service catalogue, and we are not going to talk about pricing on that call. At the end of those 30 minutes, one of three things: I tell you what I would do and we agree to work together; I tell you what I would do and you do not need me to do it; or I tell you this is not my field, and where to look instead.

If that call shows we need to look deeper, I tell you what information I need to prepare a bounded, written proposal. That is work, and it does not begin until you approve it. You will never find an invoice for something you did not approve.

What is included

The call (30 minutes, no cost)

You tell me the situation. I ask whatever I need to understand it.
I tell you what I see from the outside, and what would worry me if it were my project.
I tell you whether this is a technical, an operational or a decision blockage.
I tell you whether I can help, how, and what I would do first.
If I cannot help you, I say so on that call, and if I know someone who can, I say that too.

If we decide to continue (bounded review, quoted)

Read access to the code, the tickets and whatever documentation exists.
Conversations with the key people: business, technical team, supplier.
A review of the contracted scope and the current estimates.
A short report: what is happening, what is blocked, what I would do and in what order.
A meeting to walk you through it and answer anything you need.

What is not included

It is not a full technical audit.: I am not going to review your code line by line, run a security analysis or do load testing. If that is needed, I will tell you, and it is a separate job.
It is not a due diligence.: If you are weighing an investment or an acquisition and need a report that holds up in front of an investor or a board, that is a technical due diligence: another level of depth and another engagement.
It is not a sales proposal.: On the call I am not going to present services or rates. If there is something to propose, it is proposed afterwards and in writing.
It is not an estimate for your project.: I cannot tell you in 30 minutes what it costs to finish something I have not seen. Anyone who does is making it up.
It is not a second opinion on a decision already made.: If the goal is for me to endorse something already signed, the conversation is no use to anyone.

Who it is for

For whoever has to decide, not for whoever has to execute.
For anyone who has already invested in a digital project and does not know whether it still makes sense.
For anyone with a technical supplier who needs someone that understands what they are being told.
For anyone about to sign something expensive who wants an independent read first.
For companies with a real, working business and a digital side that is not keeping up.

Who it is not for

Not for sourcing a development quote. I do not build to order.
Not for comparing supplier prices. I do not bid against your agency.
Not for project ideas that have not started. With nothing built, there is no situation to diagnose.
The call costs nothing because it also helps me decide whether this is a project I want to take on.

What follows

What happens when you send the form

01
I read it. No commercial filter, no qualification team. It lands in my inbox and I read it.
02
I reply within 24 hours. With one of two answers: I propose times to talk, or I tell you I am not the right person and why.
03
We talk for 30 minutes. Video call or phone. No presentation, no slides.
04
When we hang up, you know where you stand. What I think is happening, what I would do, and who should do it.
05
If there is a next step, I tell you what I need in order to quote it. The proposal arrives in writing, with scope, timeline and price, before anything begins.

There is no automated email sequence, no follow-up call three days later, and no newsletter I sign you up to without telling you.

Before you hire anything

How the scope gets defined

On the first call I do not close a price or a timeline. I have not seen the project, and estimating without having seen it would not be serious: what a rescue, a due diligence or external technical leadership costs depends on the real state of the system, on what access exists, on how many suppliers are involved, on what documentation there is, and on how urgent it is.

01
A first call to understand the situation
Thirty minutes, no cost. You tell me what is going on, I ask questions, and I come out knowing whether I can help and what kind of work fits.
02
If it fits, an initial review of the context
I take a first look at whatever exists: documentation, access, contracts, who is involved. This is where the real size of the problem becomes visible.
03
Definition of the scope
What is in, what is out, what dependencies exist and what can be left aside without the work losing its point.
04
A written proposal
With scope, price, timeline and deliverables. No open ranges: a proposal you can compare and defend.
05
We start only if we both approve it
If the proposal does not convince you, no harm done and you have paid nothing. If it does not convince me, I say so first.

I would rather look careful than look fast. A quote given in thirty minutes, without having looked at anything, gets broken by week three.

Let's start