Every few weeks, a prospective client asks us for a two-week pilot. We've considered it carefully and decided not to offer one. Here's why, and what we do instead.
The pilot trap.
Two-week pilots favour the consultancy, not the client. The consultancy gets a paid engagement to learn the system, and the client gets a recommendation report that they have to act on with another team.
For a discovery of this size, you learn less than you would in a properly scoped discovery engagement. You produce recommendations that no one implements. The relationship ends.
What we do instead.
Our shortest engagements are four to six weeks and they ship working software. They are paid, fixed-fee, and produce a deployable artefact — usually a thin slice of the target system that demonstrates the architecture.
The artefact is the proof.
The client gets a running system, not a recommendation. Our engineers get to pair with their engineers and demonstrate the working patterns. After six weeks, both sides know whether the engagement should continue at scale.
It costs more upfront. It saves months of mismatched engagement.
How to start a conversation.
If you're considering Aightify, the first step is a 30-minute call with one of our engagement leads. We'll listen, ask sharp questions, and tell you whether we're the right team.
If we are, we'll propose a four-to-six-week discovery engagement. If we are not, we'll point you at three consultancies that fit better.
We don't have a sales team. We have engineers who know when to say no.