How We Engage
Predictable pricing, low friction, ongoing relationship. Structured for the realities of high-stakes technical work, not hourly billing.
Your external architectural authority on call. Building deep context with your systems and teams month after month.
Within this tier you get:
3-month initial, then rolling
Time-boxed, outcome-oriented projects. Platform migrations, integration layers, debt resolution, and system design.
Within this tier you get:
Scoped after paid discovery
Rapid intervention when systems fail or internal capacity is overwhelmed. Triage, stabilisation, and daily reporting.
Within this tier you get:
3-day minimum engagement
An ongoing monthly relationship where AI UVD serves as your external architectural authority. We attend key decision meetings, review architectural proposals, maintain a living view of your system landscape, and provide judgement on demand.
This is your base layer of technical leadership. We build deep context with your systems and teams over time, which makes every interaction more valuable than the last.
Stewardship clients are also the most likely source of Mission and Backstop work. The context we build through ongoing engagement means we can mobilise faster and deliver with deeper understanding when larger needs arise.
Organisations wanting continuous architectural oversight, a trusted external perspective at the senior technical level, and a partner who genuinely understands their landscape rather than learning it fresh each time.
Time-boxed, outcome-oriented engagements with clear scope. These map to the heavier services: technical debt resolution, platform migration, portfolio integration layer design, workflow redesign, CI/CD pipeline architecture, AI/ML system design, or uncovering latent value in existing systems.
Problem framing, stakeholder interviews, system review, and a written assessment with recommendation. Typically 1 to 2 weeks. Priced at £3,000 to £5,000. Discovery is itself valuable and you keep the output regardless.
Hands-on architectural and technical work with clear milestones and regular check-ins. Fixed price based on the scope defined in discovery, rewarding efficiency and experience.
Documentation, knowledge transfer, and optionally, transition into a Stewardship retainer for ongoing oversight of what was built.
Specific transformations, migrations, integrations, and system builds where the engagement has a natural beginning and end. Clients who need cost certainty for board-level budget approval.
Rapid-response engagement for crisis situations. Primary systems going offline, emergency pipeline architecture, complex ad hoc situations where internal teams are out of their depth. This is where the combination of deep technical ability, architectural judgement, AI fluency, and the temperament to work in crisis conditions is most irreplaceable.
Pricing at a premium is appropriate because the value delivered in a crisis is disproportionate to time spent, maintaining availability has an opportunity cost, and organisations in genuine crisis need the problem solved.
Systems down, capability gaps, crisis situations. Organisations that need someone who can walk in, understand fast, and act decisively under pressure.
At a glance
| Stewardship | Mission | Backstop | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Ongoing retainer | Defined engagement | Emergency response |
| Starting from | £6,000/month | £15,000 | £3,000/day |
| Commitment | 3-month initial, then rolling | Per-project | 3-day minimum |
| Includes | Dedicated availability, monthly reviews, async access | Paid discovery, delivery, handover | Rapid triage, stabilisation, daily reporting |
| Best for | Continuous architectural oversight | Transformations, migrations, integrations | Systems down, capability gaps, crisis |
Engagement principles