Gigax
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Tech consulting

A straight answer before you spend the money

Senior engineers look at the decision in front of you and write down what we would do, what it costs, and what we would not do. Your team gets a document it can act on, not a meeting it has to remember.

Bring us the questionWhat you get

Questions we get brought

What you get at the end

One written document, built so someone who missed every meeting can read it and know what was decided and why. For a single question it is shorter; the first page is always the answer.

Contents

  1. 1

    The decision, on one page

    Summary

    What we recommend, what it costs, and what your team can start on the Monday after.

  2. 2

    How things stand today

    Diagram

    Your systems and the data moving between them, drawn as they are rather than as the wiki says.

  3. 3

    Risks, ranked

    List

    Ordered by what breaks and how much of the business goes with it.

  4. 4

    Options we considered

    Table

    Each scored on cost, risk and time, including the ones we would not pick and why.

  5. 5

    Target architecture

    Diagram

    Where to get to, with the trade-offs written next to it.

  6. 6

    The order to do it in

    Plan

    A roadmap sequenced to your goals, dependencies untangled before they bite.

  7. 7

    Notes for the team

    Checklist

    Review, release and on-call standards, and a hiring plan matched to the roadmap.

Appendix. A short decision record for each call we made, so the context outlives the meetings it came from.

How an engagement runs

A full review typically takes about two weeks. A single question can fit into one focused session.

  1. 1

    Day one

    The question, out loud

    A call with whoever owns the decision. We agree what is being decided, by when, and what would change your mind.

  2. 2

    Usually the first week

    We read before we talk

    The code, the infrastructure, the bills and the incident notes, then short conversations with the people who run it.

  3. 3

    Usually the second week

    Options, then a draft

    Two or three real options scored side by side. You see the draft before it is final, and push back on it.

  4. 4

    At the end

    Walkthrough and handover

    We take your team through the document and leave it with you. The recommendation stands on its own, whoever builds it.

Questions we get asked

What if we only have one question?

Then it can be a single focused session on that one decision. You leave with a written recommendation and the reasoning behind it.

How long does a full review take?

Typically about two weeks from the first call to the walkthrough: a week of reading, then options and a draft. It depends on the size of the system and the decision.

What do you need from us?

Access to the code, the infrastructure and the bills, and some time with the people who run it. Most of the first week is reading.

Will you tell us not to do something?

Yes. Every recommendation comes with the options we would not pick, and a short list of what we would not do.

Do we have to hire you to build it?

No. The document is written so your own team, or anyone else, can act on it. If you want us to build it, that is a separate conversation.

Can we keep you on after the review?

Yes. Some teams keep a senior engineer on call each month for the decisions that do not wait for a project.

How is it priced?

There is no fixed menu. The shape of the engagement follows the shape of the decision, so tell us the question and we come back with scope and a price.

Is there a decision you keep putting off?

Tell us the question and when it has to be settled. We come back with how we would answer it and what that takes.

Bring us the question