Diagnostic Services

Three tiers. One standard.

Every engagement is governed by the same independence rule: we never perform implementation work on systems we have diagnosed. The tiers vary in scope, timing, and price — the standard does not.

The three tiers are not three levels of the same engagement. They are three different decision shapes.

Pick by decision, not by duration. If the decision is small, a fifteen-day Protocol is over-built. If the decision has to defend itself in a committee, a three-day Quick-Read is under-evidenced. A scoping call settles which applies — the choice is rarely ambiguous once the decision is named out loud.

Tier 1

Quick-Read

One question. Written findings in three days.

Duration3 working days ScopeOne specific question DeliverableWritten findings memo

The decision looks like this. A CTO has a vendor proposal on their desk and needs to know if the architecture holds, before Friday. A head of platform has a migration plan and wants a second reading before the team starts writing code. A single clean question. A single clean answer, written down, in three days.

A focused architectural review scoped to a single specific question. Quick-Read is the entry point for engineering leaders who need an outside reading before a concrete decision — and who do not need a full diagnostic of the system as a whole.

Ideal for
  • A single architectural decision awaiting commitment
  • A vendor proposal requiring technical evaluation
  • A specific subsystem after a minor incident
  • A second opinion on a proposed migration path
What it is not
  • Not a full system audit
  • Not a multi-surface risk map
  • Not an organizational review
  • Not a deliverable suitable for a board-level decision
Payment: 100% at signature. Commission a Quick-Read →
Tier 2

Risk Scan

Two or three risk surfaces. Structured diagnostic in a week.

Duration5–8 working days Scope2–3 risk surfaces DeliverableRanked findings + recommendations

The decision looks like this. Six months into a rewrite, a CTO needs to know if the plan is still the right one before the next funding tranche commits. An enterprise team has an LLM pilot that works in demo and has to be made safe for production. A recent incident needs to be classified — isolated, or structural? Two or three linked risk surfaces, ranked, in a week.

A structured diagnostic across a bounded set of risk surfaces. Risk Scan is calibrated for the decisions that recur in every growth-stage engineering organization: rewrite vs. refactor, LLM production readiness, post-incident structural review, scale-transition readiness.

Frequent scopes
  • Rewrite vs. refactor — the committed-capital decision
  • LLM pilot-to-production readiness
  • Post-incident structural review (first 90 days)
  • Platform consolidation or replatforming readiness
  • Scale-transition diagnosis (Series C / D threshold)
What you receive
  • Ranked findings across the scanned surfaces
  • Architectural recommendations with prioritization
  • Risk classification tied to business exposure
  • Verbal debrief at engagement close
Payment: 50% at signature, 50% at delivery. Commission a Risk Scan →
Tier 3

The Protocol

The full engagement. Board-grade findings in fifteen days.

Duration15 working days ScopeProduction-wide DeliverableComplete technical mandate

The decision looks like this. A PE committee is weeks from an LOI and the commercial DD has a blank space where architectural evidence should sit. A board is preparing for exit and wants its own reading before the buyer arrives with theirs. A board chair, post-incident, needs to know what the firm must now disclose, remediate, or accept. Fifteen days. Full evidence file. Findings that survive the room.

The canonical Eligere engagement. A structured fifteen-day architectural diagnosis commissioned at partner, CEO, or board level. Complete technical evidence delivered with the framing the committee requires to act — and to defend every decision.

Frequent scopes
  • Pre-LOI technical due diligence
  • Post-close portfolio baseline (100 days)
  • Pre-exit architectural review
  • Board-commissioned oversight engagement
  • Post-incident fiduciary review
What you receive
  • Full architectural audit across the production surface
  • Complete technical evidence file
  • Board-grade written mandate
  • In-person findings presentation to committee or board
Payment: 50% at NDA, 50% at delivery. Explore The Protocol in depth →
Side by Side

Which tier matches the decision.

Quick-Read Risk Scan The Protocol
Duration 3 days 5–8 days 15 days
Scope One question 2–3 risk surfaces Production-wide
Commissioner CTO / VP Eng CTO / CIO CEO / board / PE partner
Deliverable Written memo Ranked findings + recs Board-grade mandate
Presentation Written only Verbal debrief In-person to committee
Use for board decision No Supporting Primary
The Rule That Governs All Three Tiers
We diagnose systems we didn't build.
We build systems we won't diagnose.

No tier of engagement creates a path to implementation work on the same system. This is not a policy that can be waived — it is the architecture of independence. If you need build capability on the diagnosed system, we help you find the right partner; we do not become one.

The rule binds per system, not per organization. A diagnostic engagement on one system does not foreclose a construction mandate on another — see Section V of The Standard →

Commercial Standard

The commercial terms that apply to every engagement.

Published so that procurement conversations begin with alignment, not discovery. These terms are uniform across tiers and non-negotiable — because predictability is itself a form of authority.

Currency

All engagements are contracted and invoiced in U.S. dollars. Local-currency invoicing is available in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile by request, at the spot rate on the invoice date.

Taxes & Withholdings

All quoted fees are net of local taxes — including withholdings, service taxes (ISS, IVA), and any cross-border levies. The contractor is responsible for ensuring the practitioner receives the net fee as quoted.

Payment

50% on engagement, 50% on delivery of findings. Wire transfer only. Tier 3 engagements may optionally be structured as 40 / 40 / 20 across engagement, mid-point review, and delivery.

Expenses

All travel, accommodation, and engagement materials are included in the fee. No expense reimbursement. No per-diem. The quoted number is the number.

Scope & Change Orders

Scope is fixed at contract execution. Extensions or additional surfaces are quoted as separate engagements, priced at the applicable tier rate — never as informal add-ons.

Urgency & Compressed Timing

Standard delivery windows are published by tier. Compressed timelines (e.g. 48-hour pre-LOI review) are available on the applicable tier, subject to practitioner availability and confirmed at commissioning.

These terms also apply to engagements commissioned under The Standard →

Unsure which tier fits the decision?

A twenty-minute scoping call clarifies the right entry point.

Get in Touch