Blueprint

The operating pathway behind every Build engagement.

A structured delivery pathway from discovery through production — phased scope, defined roles, and clear timelines for research, systems design, and model work where the engagement requires it.

FDE — Forward Deployed Engineer

AI/ML Experts — research & models

12–24 weeks — typical; longer when required

Connect

Map systems

Research adoption

Build & empower

Pathway

Four phases · 24 weeks typical

Stakeholder alignment and success criteria before systems work begins.

  • Executive intake

    2–3 days

    Intake with founders and stakeholders to define ambition, constraints, and AI-first requirements for the company.

    FDE

  • Decision inventory

    2 days

    Catalog high-impact decisions across pricing, operations, capital, and growth, and where judgment remains manual.

    FDE

  • Success criteria lock

    1–2 days

    Lock measurable outcomes for cost, cycle time, and decision quality — not open-ended AI initiatives.

    FDE · AI/ML Experts

Workflow, data, and bottleneck analysis across the operating stack.

  • Workflow & data audit

    1–1.5 weeks

    Trace information flow across tools, teams, and approvals as the operation actually runs.

    FDE · AI/ML Experts

  • Bottleneck instrumentation

    4–6 days

    Identify decision latency, cost concentration, and unused leverage with operational evidence.

    FDE

  • Leverage scorecard

    3–4 days

    Rank opportunity surfaces by impact and readiness to prioritize research and build.

    AI/ML Experts

Adoption feasibility, risk assessment, and a recommended build path.

  • Adoption path research

    1–2 weeks

    Evaluate how intelligence integrates into existing workflows — assistants, automation, or closed-loop systems.

    AI/ML Experts

  • Risk & readiness review

    4–5 days

    Hallucination surface, data quality, governance, and change risk — scored before build starts.

    FDE · AI/ML Experts

  • Recommendation brief

    3–4 days

    Written recommendation on scope, exclusions, and where custom models outperform off-the-shelf options.

    AI/ML Experts

Architecture, implementation, validation, and operational handoff.

  • System architecture

    1–2 weeks

    FDEs and AI/ML experts co-design the decision stack — interfaces, data contracts, evaluation loops.

    FDE · AI/ML Experts

  • Build decision systems

    6–12 weeks

    Deliver production software that improves executive judgment or automates a defined business function.

    FDE · AI/ML Experts

  • Model training (when required)

    2–4 weeks

    Train or fine-tune domain models so recommendations remain accountable to your data and constraints.

    AI/ML Experts · optional

  • Validate & handoff

    1–2 weeks

    Executive review, monitoring, and enablement for independent operation after handoff.

    FDE · AI/ML Experts

Discuss a Build engagement.