Make the critical architecture decisions before they become expensive.

Business outcome, system boundaries, security risks, architecture options and delivery path — decided in one focused engagement.

Request a SprintSee what you receive
  • 10business days, proposed sequence
  • 5phases, each with a named output
  • 8deliverables in the pack
  • 5possible recommendations

ProposedTen business days is the proposed sequence. Duration and commercial terms are confirmed during qualification.

For a decision that is still open.

It fits when the outcome matters and the direction is not yet defensible.

The Sprint is built for these situations

  • A new platform or product has executive sponsorship but unclear scope.
  • An AI opportunity needs a business case and a control model before it gets funded.
  • A legacy system is creating operational risk or blocking growth.
  • A dashboard or data platform lacks trusted inputs and clear ownership.
  • A pilot exists, and the path to secure production is uncertain.
  • Multiple teams or vendors disagree on the architecture direction.

It is the wrong engagement when

  • The decision is already made and the requirement is delivery capacity
  • No executive sponsor can commit to the sessions
  • The requirement is an independent security audit or certification
  • The objective is a fixed price for a fixed scope before anyone has examined the constraints
Compare the six engagements

Ten days, phase by phase.

What each phase produces, and when your people are needed.

Sprint sequence · 10 business days · 5 phasesProposed · confirmed during qualification
Proposed ten-day Sprint sequence: the days each phase occupies, its output, and the days each client role is needed.
DayDay 01Day 02Day 03Day 04Day 05Day 06Day 07Day 08Day 09Day 10
PhaseP1Align, Day 1P2Investigate, Days 2–4P3Decide, Days 5–6P4Plan, Days 7–8P5Commit, Days 9–10
OutputDecision statement and agreed success measuresSystem context map, initial threat model, risk registerOption comparison, recommendation, architecture decision recordsPhased delivery roadmap, effort range, governance modelDecision pack and next-step recommendation
Executive sponsorNeededNeededNeeded
Product or operations leadNeededNeededNeeded
Architecture or engineering leadNeededNeededNeededNeededNeeded
Security or data stakeholderNeeded
  1. P1 · Day 1

    Align

    What decision does this engagement have to make possible?

    Work and people
    • Executive intent session: the outcome, the constraint, the deadline behind the deadline
    • Success measures defined in business terms
    • Explicit list of what is out of scope
    • Executive sponsor
    • Sudens engagement lead
  2. P2 · Days 2–4

    Investigate

    What is actually true about the current operation?

    Work and people
    • Users, roles and the workflow as it is performed, including its exceptions
    • Systems, integrations, data sources and ownership
    • Security, privacy and operational risk review
    • Operations and product stakeholders
    • Client architecture or engineering
    • Security or data stakeholder where one exists
  3. P3 · Days 5–6

    Decide

    Which architecture survives the constraints?

    Work and people
    • Two or three viable options developed to the same depth
    • Comparison against scale, risk, cost, time and organizational capability
    • Recommendation with the trade-off stated plainly
    • Client architecture or engineering
    • Sudens architects
  4. P4 · Days 7–8

    Plan

    How would this be delivered, and by whom?

    Work and people
    • Delivery slicing, dependencies and sequencing
    • Effort range, team shape and operating model
    • Governance, gates and reporting approach
    • Executive sponsor
    • Delivery and product stakeholders
  5. P5 · Days 9–10

    Commit

    Is the direction defensible under challenge?

    Work and people
    • Internal challenge session against the recommendation
    • Revision, and an explicit list of decisions still open
    • Executive readout
    • Executive sponsor
    • All key stakeholders

Eight documents. One decision pack.

Produced as the phases run and handed over at the day 10 readout. Yours to use, with any partner.

  1. D-01P5 · Commit

    Executive decision brief

    Document, 6–10 pages
  2. D-02P2 · Investigate

    System context and architecture blueprint

    Diagram set with written takeaways
  3. D-03P2 · Investigate

    Data and integration map

    Diagram and register
  4. D-04P2 · Investigate

    Threat overview

    Model summary with prioritized findings
  5. D-05P3 · Decide

    Architecture decision records

    One record per decision
  6. D-06P2 · Investigate

    Prioritized risk register

    Register with severity and owner
  7. D-07P4 · Plan

    Delivery roadmap with gates

    Roadmap with milestone gates
  8. D-08P4 · Plan

    Indicative team and effort range

    Estimate with assumption log

Four people, on specific days.

What we need from your side. Exact sessions are agreed up front.

  • 3days

    Executive sponsor

    Day 1 intent session, day 8 planning, day 10 readout
  • 3days

    Product or operations lead

    Days 2–4, plus review
  • 5days

    Architecture or engineering lead

    Days 2–6
  • 1day

    Security or data stakeholder

    Day 4, plus review

What we ask you to prepare

  • The business outcome you are trying to reach, even if the solution is unclear
  • Current system, integration and data documentation, in whatever state it exists
  • Known constraints: regulatory, contractual, operational, budgetary
  • Access to the people who perform the affected work
  • Any prior analysis, prototypes or vendor proposals already in play

Five endings. All of them useful.

A decision, not a proposal. Two of the five endings mean we build nothing, and that is a good result.

Day 10 readoutOne recommendationof 5 possible
  1. 01Proceed

    The direction holds under challenge. You leave with the blueprint, the sequence and the team shape to start.

  2. 02Reshape

    The objective is right and the scope is wrong. A smaller or differently bounded first phase carries the risk better.

  3. 03Buy or partner

    The capability exists in the market at a cost below building it. We say so, and help define the integration and the boundary.

  4. 04Defer

    A dependency has to resolve first — data quality, an organizational decision, a contract. Building now would waste the budget.

  5. 05Stop

    The business case does not survive the constraints. Finding that out in ten days is the cheapest possible version of that discovery.

When the answer is proceed, the Sprint is typically followed bySecure Product PilotEnterprise Platform Development

Evidence for the Sprint, when a client approves it.

No Sprint case study goes out until a client approves it. Until then, the deliverable format is the proof.

Sprint case evidence in preparationThe standard a case study has to meet
  1. 01Every measure states its scope
  2. 02Attribution is approved in writing
  3. 03Nothing is published to fill a layout
  4. 04Technology is metadata

Questions evaluators ask.

Ask during qualification
01Is ten days a fixed duration?

It is the proposed sequence, and it is what the phases on this page are designed around. Duration is confirmed during qualification, because a single-system review and a multi-vendor platform decision are not the same amount of work. We will tell you before the engagement starts, not during it.

02What does it cost?

We do not publish a fixed price yet. Scope varies enough that a published figure would be misleading, and we would rather quote against your actual constraints. You will have a written scope and price before committing to anything.

03Who from Sudens takes part?

An engagement lead and the architects doing the analysis. We name the people during qualification, and we do not promise a specific senior individual on this page — a promise we cannot guarantee for every engagement is worth nothing.

04Who owns the output?

You do. The decision pack, diagrams, decision records and roadmap are yours to use, including with another delivery partner. IP and confidentiality terms are agreed in writing before the engagement begins.

05How is our information protected?

Under a mutual confidentiality agreement, with access limited to the people on the engagement. We ask you not to share production data during a Sprint; anonymized or representative extracts are sufficient for architecture work.

06Remote or on-site?

Both work. The intent session and the readout benefit from being in the same room where that is practical; the investigation and analysis do not require it.

07What happens afterwards?

Whatever the decision pack recommends. That may be a Secure Product Pilot, a platform programme, a hardening engagement, a managed team — or nothing, if the recommendation is to defer or stop. There is no obligation to continue with Sudens.

08Can you do this if we already have an architecture team?

Yes, and it is often the better case. An internal team that disagrees with itself, or with a vendor, usually needs the trade-offs made explicit rather than more opinions added.

Request a Sprint. We confirm fit first.

Tell us the decision. We reply with a written next step.

  1. 01

    Qualification

    Fit, participants and scope confirmed before dates are proposed.

  2. 02

    Written scope and price

    In writing, before you commit to anything.

  3. 03

    Terms agreed

    IP and confidentiality terms agreed in writing.

  4. 04

    Named people

    Sudens people named and duration confirmed before day 1.

Request a SprintCompare the six engagements

Ten business days is the proposed sequence. Duration and commercial terms are confirmed during qualification.