One path from first conversation to working build. Mike owns the client. Randy owns the solution. John owns capacity. Nothing gets built without a signed SOW, and nothing gets signed without both Mike and Randy agreeing it is right.
Current operating note. Randy attends client sessions virtually for now. The framework runs as drawn; we will reassess the process after we have run it a few times and determine whether changes are needed.
Seven stages, three phases, three decision gates. Each column shows what happens, who leads it, who supports, and what has to exist before the engagement can move to the next column.
Mike sources and qualifies leads from the base and the market, and initiates contact.
Mike books and runs the first client session. Frames NEWT IQ against what the business is actually trying to fix.
Mike shapes the sale to the client's needs and confirms interest real enough to warrant a deeper session.
Mike bridges Randy in, virtually for now. Together they pull out what the client requires and the best starting point.
Mike and Randy agree the scope. Randy authors version 1.0. Mike reviews and signs off internally.
SOW tested against the client's own view. Signed as-is, or amended to reflect final tweaks, then signed.
Mike notifies Randy to start. If Randy is fully booked, John assigns an alternate developer and Randy briefs them on the SOW.
On a narrow screen, scroll the board sideways to see all seven stages.
Clear ownership is what keeps the client hearing one voice while the work is done by several people.
An engagement only advances when a gate is cleared. Gates are what stop us building unscoped work and stop us writing SOWs for clients who were never really buying.
Mike has shaped the offer to a real need and the client has agreed to a follow-up meeting to dive deeper. Without this, Randy is not bridged in and no discovery time is spent.
The close meeting exists to test the SOW against the client's own understanding. It is either signed off as written, or altered to reflect the tweaks and final changes and then signed.
Mike notifies Randy to start. Where Randy is fully booked, John arranges an alternate developer and Randy walks that developer through the SOW in detail before any build begins.
This is the one place the framework branches. Everything before it is a single path.
Mike notifies Randy that the SOW is signed. Randy starts building against it.
John arranges an alternative developer, such as Peter. Randy stays the technical owner of the scope.
Both paths converge here. Whoever builds, Mike stays in the loop so he is aware of progress and agrees the build is moving in the right direction against the client's SOW and expectations. Mike remains the lead of the relationship through delivery and on an ongoing basis.
The short version. If a situation is not covered by the diagram, these decide it.
All client meeting time is booked by Mike, and Mike leads every client conversation. Others are bridged in by invitation.
In the deep-dive his job is to observe and comment where it helps the team pull out what the client requires — not to take over the meeting.
The deep-dive exists to establish the starting point and the initial data. That data is the input to SOW v1.0.
Mike and Randy agree the scope, Randy writes v1.0, Mike signs off. Only then does it go in front of the client.
Build work starts at Gate 3, after the client has signed. Amendments happen in the close meeting, not in the build.
A change to what the client wants goes back through Mike and Randy and is reflected in the SOW before it is built.
If Randy cannot take the build, that is raised immediately at handoff so John can assign an alternate rather than the work sitting.
He is the one who agrees the build is tracking to the SOW and to what the client expects, because he owns the relationship.
Deep-dive and close sessions are run with Randy on video. Mike is in the room, or leads the call, either way.
We run it as drawn, then reassess after live engagements to determine whether any part of the process needs to change.