01
SCOPE
up to 1 week
|
02
BUILD & EVAL
1-3 weeks
|
03
DEPLOY
1 week
|
04
OPERATE
Weekly, ongoing
Each gate is a real decision point. If the answer is no, we stop - without sunk cost.
WHY THIS MATTERS
What most vendors do
Sell the platform. Promise implementation. Discover scope mid-build. Push for go-live regardless of evaluation results. Hand you the keys and walk away after deployment.
What we don't do
Sell software you have to integrate yourself. Estimate timelines we can't defend. Deploy before evaluation passes. Disappear after go-live.
What we do instead
Scope one process. Build and test against your data. Show you the evaluation report. Deploy when you approve. Operate the process in production. Review weekly.
STAGE 1 - SCOPE
One working session with the process owner.
STAGE 1: Gate - does the process fit?
If the process is too custom, too varied, or fundamentally not a fit for agent automation - we say so here. No proposal, no rolling into Stage 2, no sunk cost. A meaningful share of scoping conversations end at this gate. The conversations end honestly.
TIME
Typically completed within one week - sometimes a single working session.
WHO'S INVOLVED
Process owner, one operational lead, one IT/security representative.
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
A written scope document. Agreed success metrics. A go/no-go decision.
STAGE 2 - BUILD & EVALUATE
STAGE 2: Gate - does it meet your bar?
You set the accuracy threshold during scope. We run the eval. If we don’t hit threshold, we iterate or scope the fallback. If we can’t hit threshold even with iteration, we tell you what we can deliver - and you decide whether that’s worth deploying.
TIME
1–3 weeks depending on data complexity and integration depth.
WHO'S INVOLVED
Process owner (reviews report), risk/compliance lead (reviews failure modes), IT (validates integration access).
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
A written evaluation report. Threshold pass/fail status. Recommendations for any sub-threshold paths. A go/no-go decision.
STAGE 3 - DEPLOY
Stage 3 Gate - go-live decision is yours
We don’t push to production. You do. We provide the runbook, the eval data, the rollback plan, and the security review. The “deploy” button is pressed by your team with our support, not the other way around.
TIME
Typically 1 week from eval approval to full production traffic.
WHO'S INVOLVED
Process owner, IT, security, risk/compliance, operations lead.
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
A production deployment. Audit trail from day one. A documented rollback plan. Monitoring dashboards.
STAGE 4 - OPERATE
WHAT CHANGES AFTER GO-LIVE
A new document type arrives - we add it
A vendor changes their format - we detect and adapt
A rule changes (tax law, internal policy) - we update the workflow
A system migrates (new ERP) - we re-integrate
Accuracy drifts - we re-evaluate and fix before it becomes a problem
WHAT STAYS CONSTANT
The agreed success metrics from Stage 1
The HITL checkpoints from Stage 2
The audit trail from Stage 3
The weekly review cadence
The price (no hidden change requests)
EVERY GATE IS REAL
STOP AT STAGE 1
Process doesn’t fit.
Too custom, too varied, no clear “done” state, or fundamentally not an agent automation problem. We tell you. No proposal. No effort to convince you otherwise. We may suggest a different problem in your operation that would fit - or we don’t.
STOP AT STAGE 2
Evaluation can’t hit threshold.
Either the data is too messy, the edge cases too varied, or the underlying process needs to change before automation works. You see the eval report. We tell you what we can deliver, what we can’t, and what would need to change. You decide whether to scope a narrower workflow, iterate, or stop entirely.
PAUSE AT STAGE 3
Security or compliance blocker.
Threshold met in eval, but a security or IT or compliance issue surfaces during pre-deploy review. Deploy pauses. We resolve the blocker - or document explicitly why it can’t be resolved - before go-live.
WHAT WE CHECK
TIMELINE
01
SCOPE - up to 1 week
Initial conversation, process mapping, feasibility, data access check. Output: go/no-go and scope document.
≤ 1 week
02
BUILD & EVALUATE - 4-8 weeks
Agent development, evaluation harness, structured testing against real data. Output: eval report, accuracy vs. threshold.
4-8 weeks
03
DEPLOY - 2-4 weeks
Infrastructure, security review, IT integration, runbook, controlled rollout, monitoring dashboards live. Output: agent in production.
2-4 weeks
04
OPERATE - ongoing
Weekly reviews, performance monitoring, drift detection, model updates, expansion planning. Monthly retainer, cancel at any cycle.
Ongoing
FASTER
What compresses the timeline
• Clean, accessible data from day one
• A single process owner with decision authority
• IT and security engaged early
• Threshold set before build starts
LONGER
What extends the timeline
• Data that requires significant cleaning or access negotiation
• Multiple stakeholders without a single decision owner
• IT or security reviews scheduled late
• Threshold not agreed before build starts
EXPLICIT LIMITS
We don't do "discovery as the deliverable"
If you need a consultant to identify automation opportunities across your operation, we're not the right vendor. We work on one defined process at a time.
We don't do unbounded custom builds
If the engagement requires custom-coded workflows that won't replicate to any other customer, we're not the right vendor. Our model is repeatable process automation, not bespoke development.
We don't do "AI exploration"
If the engagement is "let's see what AI can do for us," we're not the right vendor. We work on processes with measurable outcomes, decided up front.
If your need is one of the above, we know vendors who do that work well. We'll tell you who.
READ NEXT
Evaluation Framework
How we test before deploy and monitor after. The same evaluation engine that gates Stage 2.
Read the framework →
SECURITY
SOC 2-aligned controls. RBAC. Audit. Workspace isolation. The detail your security team will want.
Read the overview →
AI Governance
Model risk, explainability, HITL design, regulatory framework alignment (SR 11-7, DORA, EU AI Act, MAS, HKMA).
Read the policy →
DEPLOYMENT
Cloud, hybrid, on-prem. EU data residency. The detail your IT and infra teams will want.
Read the options →
