FAQs
How do you price your work?
Fixed-fee for clear scope, milestone-based for evolving projects, always with an outcome-linked bonus so we win when you do.
What’s the fastest way to start?
Book a 30-minute discovery call. Within a week you’ll have a one-page action plan—impact, effort, timeline—ready to launch a 30-day quick-win sprint.
Do you prescribe a single framework or toolset?
No—we’re vendor-neutral. We benchmark several options, show the trade-offs in plain language, and let the business goal decide.
We’ve tried Lean before; why will it work this time?
We combine Lean analysis with quick automation pilots, so staff see effort drop within weeks—not after a year-long report. That early win builds the momentum past attempts lacked.
How do you measure success?
We set baseline cycle-time and cost metrics in week one, then track improvements sprint by sprint. Savings and speed gains appear on a live dashboard the CFO can audit.
What languages and clouds do you support?
Our engineers cover React, Angular, Java, .NET, Node, Flutter, Kotlin, C / C++ for devices, and all three major clouds (AWS, Azure, Google). You won’t need multiple vendors.
Do we have to replace our current BI tool?
Not unless it’s blocking progress. We often connect a new data platform—Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks—to Power BI, Tableau, or Looker you already own.
Can we move to the cloud without re-implementing everything?
Often yes. We run a fit-gap to identify modules you can lift-and-shift, re-host, or re-platform, saving time and licence cost.
Our releases are quarterly—can you really get us to weekly?
Yes, and often in under three months. Automated pipelines, test suites, and SRE dashboards cut manual steps while raising confidence.
How is security woven into the pipeline?
Static, dynamic, and dependency scans run on every commit. Secrets detection and policy checks shift security left, long before production.
Will Athena staff embed with our teams?
Absolutely. Consultants join daily stand-ups, pair on code or process mapping, and leave behind skills—not dependency.
How long does a typical roadmap engagement take?
Most run four to six weeks. That gives us time to hold leadership workshops, map the current stack, and cost out a phased, value-ranked plan.
Will the roadmap be useful to technical and non-technical leaders alike?
Yes. Every deliverable includes one executive view (business value, cost, risk) and a deeper technical blueprint for architects and engineers.
Will automation shrink head-count?
Our primary goal is to move people from manual checks to higher-value work. Head-count impact is a leadership decision, not a hidden agenda in our process maps.
Can you modernise an existing codebase or do you only build greenfield?
We do both. A quick code-health scan tells us whether refactoring or selective rebuilds will get you to scalable, security-ready code the fastest.
How frequently will we see working software?
Every two to three weeks. Each sprint ends with a demo and, whenever feasible, a deploy to a test or production slot.
How do you keep AI models from drifting?
Every model ships with MLOps monitors for data drift, bias, and performance decay. Retraining or rollback is automated so issues never surprise the business.
What’s the usual timeline for first insights?
Dashboards that answer top-priority questions go live in 30 days. More advanced models follow once data quality and ownership are solid.
How do you limit go-live disruption?
You choose: a knowledge hand-off to your team, a managed-services contract with us, or a hybrid model. Flexibility is built in.
What tools do you use for CI/CD?
GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, or ArgoCD—your preference. We design pipelines, not tool lock-ins.