Strategy · Targeted Discovery
One problem, properly understood, with the right fix recommended.
For the owner who can name what is hurting and wants it fixed properly. Quotes that take half a day. Enquiries that go cold before anyone replies. Month-end that swallows a senior person for a week.
We look at that one problem end to end, agree the requirements with you, and recommend the best way to fix it, with a fixed price to deliver it.
Sounds like you?
Does any of this sound familiar?
Our quoting process lives in one person's head.
We type the same job details into three systems.
Website enquiries sit in an inbox until someone gets to them.
Month-end reporting takes a week of senior time.
We bought software two years ago and still do this bit in Excel.
Our proposals take a day each and they all look different.
The method
Five steps. Always in this order.
Current state analysisWe map the process as it runs today, with the people who run it.
We sit with the people who run the process and follow one real job from start to finish. We note where details are typed twice, where work waits for someone, and where a senior person is doing admin. The map shows how the work runs on a normal day, which is often different from the procedure. We record the inputs, handoffs and decisions involved. Everything that follows builds on this picture, so we check it with the team before moving on.
System capabilityWe test the current software against the real workflow.
We open the software you already pay for and test it against the real workflow. Many businesses use a fraction of what their practice management, CRM or accounting platform can do. If the current system can do the job, we work inside it and say what needs configuring. If it cannot, we look outside and explain why. We check the relevant settings, connections and approvals against the work you actually do. The cheapest fix is often a setting nobody switched on.
The business problemWhat it costs in time, margin or money, in your words.
We write down what the problem is actually costing in time, margin or money, using the words your team uses. You read it and agree it before we go further. Sometimes it turns out to be a different problem to the one we started with. Slow quoting can trace back to missing information at intake, and late invoicing to job notes kept in a notebook. We use your records to check the impact. That is worth knowing before anyone spends money.
Business requirementsWhat any fix must do, connect to and avoid. You validate it.
We set out what any fix must do, what it must connect to, and what it must not do. That covers the data it touches, the people who use it, the approvals it needs and the systems it has to talk to. We also record the access controls and exceptions the team needs to handle. You check the document, correct it and sign it off. Only then do we discuss options. Every option is measured against the same written standard.
Solution ProposalOptions assessed, one recommended, with a fixed price.
We assess the options against your signed requirements: using what you already have, an off the shelf tool, a simple automation, or a custom AI build. Each is a legitimate answer. We recommend one, explain why it beats the others, and give a fixed price to deliver it. The proposal records the scope, assumptions and timeline, alongside the reasons for setting other options aside. You can test the recommendation yourself or take it to another provider, with the requirements and reasoning together.
What you get
A Solution Proposal.
- Current state process map
- System capability assessment
- Problem statement, agreed with you
- Validated business requirements
- Options assessed, one recommended, and why
- Fixed price and timeline to deliver the recommended option
The Solution Proposal stands on its own. You can take it to anyone, including another provider. It brings the process map, requirements and recommendation together, so the next person can understand how the decision was made. Most clients have us deliver it, because we wrote it and know the detail.
Either way, the thinking is yours to keep. You can question the assumptions, compare the options and decide whether to proceed. Receiving the document does not commit you to an implementation project.
The order matters
Why the requirements come first.
Most technology purchases start with the product and work backwards to a justification. We do it the other way round. The requirements are written up and signed off by you before a single option is discussed, so the recommendation is tied to what your business needs rather than to whatever was easiest to sell.
It also keeps us honest. If the fix is a setting in software you already own, we will tell you. The written requirements give you a way to compare options, question the assumptions and check whether the recommended change addresses the problem your business agreed in writing.
What happens next
Accept it, and the work starts.
You accept the Solution Proposal, we confirm terms, and the work starts as a fixed-price project. The right fix might sit inside your current software, a new tool or a purpose-built agent. Nothing starts until you have agreed the scope and the price.
Software Matchmaking helps choose a suitable existing tool. Custom AI Builds covers work your systems cannot handle. Implementation & Change covers putting the agreed change into practice with your team. The proposal sets out the implementation timeline.
If the discovery uncovers several problems, not one, we will say so and suggest whether a strategy would serve you better.
Compared with a strategy
How this differs from a strategy.
A Targeted Discovery goes deep on one problem and ends in a Solution Proposal with a fixed price. AI Growth Strategy produces an AI Growth Roadmap. Digital Transformation Strategy produces a Transformation Roadmap. These strategies go wider across the business, with an indicative cost range for each roadmap item rather than a fixed implementation price.
Quick wins can go straight to implementation. Larger items come back through a shorter Targeted Discovery for a Solution Proposal and fixed price, because the groundwork is done.
See the three side by sideQuestions about Targeted Discovery
What if we're not sure it's the real problem?
That is what the first three steps establish. We map the process, test the software and write the problem down for you to agree. If the cause differs from your starting assumption, we explain it before any option is recommended.
How long does it take?
Timing depends on the workflow, systems and people involved. We agree the discovery scope and schedule with you before the engagement starts, rather than assigning a standard duration. The Solution Proposal then sets out the fixed price and timeline for implementation.
Do you only recommend AI?
We recommend what meets your agreed requirements. That might be existing software, an off the shelf tool, a simple automation or a custom AI build. We check what you already own first, and explain when keeping the current approach makes sense.
Do we have to use you to deliver it?
The Solution Proposal is yours to take to any provider. Most clients have us deliver it because we wrote it and know the detail. That choice is yours, and the agreed requirements and written reasoning remain useful whichever provider you choose.
What if you find more than one problem?
We explain what we have found and whether a wider strategy would serve you better. You can choose a roadmap or stay focused on the original problem. We discuss that scope decision with you before recommending work beyond the agreed engagement.