How we work

Engagement models

Three models. The right one depends on how well defined the work is and whether you want to direct it yourself. Choosing wrongly is the most common cause of a difficult engagement, so it is worth twenty minutes at the outset.

Model	Best for	What it includes	Who directs the work	Commercials
Dedicated team	Long-term builds requiring full end-to-end delivery	A complete squad: delivery lead, engineers, QA, and business analysis or design where the scope requires it	Barton delivery lead, against outcomes you set	Per person, per month. Three-month minimum term. 30 days' notice.
Staff augmentation	Filling specific skill gaps in a team you already have	One to five engineers added directly into your existing sprint and reporting lines	Your engineering leads	Per person, per month. One-month minimum term. 30 days' notice.
Project, fixed price	Well-defined scopes with an agreed outcome	Named milestones, specific deliverables, written acceptance criteria and a fixed budget	Barton, against the agreed specification	Milestone invoicing against a fixed price. Change requests priced separately.

Choosing

Which model fits your situation

Dedicated team

Choose this when the work is continuous, the outcome matters more to you than the method, and you do not have the management capacity to direct individual engineers day to day.

Squad of four or more with a delivery lead included
Weekly delivery reporting and a monthly service review
Team composition adjusted as the roadmap changes

Ramp: two to three weeks. Minimum term: three months.

Staff augmentation

Choose this when you have a functioning team and a specific gap. You keep full control of technical direction and priorities; we carry the employment and continuity risk.

One to five engineers as standard
Engineers work in your tools and your process
One-week no-questions replacement from day one

Ramp: one to two weeks. Minimum term: one month.

Project, fixed price

Choose this when the scope can be specified precisely enough to be tested against, and you would rather transfer delivery risk than manage it.

Written specification and acceptance criteria
Milestone-based invoicing
Change requests priced and approved separately

Ramp: one to two weeks after specification sign-off.

Questions we ask before recommending a model

Can the outcome be specified in writing today?

If yes, fixed price is available and often the best value. If the answer is "roughly", fixed price will produce change requests and friction, and a time-based model is more honest.

Do you have the management capacity to direct engineers daily?

Staff augmentation requires someone on your side allocating work and reviewing output. If that person does not exist or is already overloaded, a dedicated team with its own lead will produce better results.

Is the work continuous or bounded?

Continuous work suits a dedicated team. Bounded work with a clear end suits a project. A gap in an existing team suits augmentation.

How much does knowledge retention matter?

Where retention is critical, we recommend longer terms and a documentation requirement written into the engagement, regardless of model.

What happens if this goes badly?

A reasonable question to ask any supplier. Notice periods, replacement rights and exit obligations are set out before signature, not discussed once a relationship is under strain.

Twenty minutes now saves a difficult quarter later.

Describe the work and we will recommend a model, including telling you when the smallest option is the right one.

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