Why not go directly to a software company?

You can, and many do. The difficulty is that the discovery is then written by the organisation that will be paid to build the result. A software company is not dishonest for recommending software, it is simply the only thing it sells. We have nothing to sell after day 30, so the Blueprint can conclude whatever the evidence supports.

What if we already have internal developers?

Then the Sprint is usually more valuable, not less. Internal teams are rarely short of engineering capability; they are short of an agreed, unambiguous definition of what to build and why. The Blueprint gives them exactly that, and gives you a way to hold the work to a standard everyone signed off in advance.

Can our existing vendor build from the Blueprint?

Yes. That is what it is designed for. The package is vendor-neutral and includes a live handover session with whichever partner you choose, so their team can ask questions directly rather than interpret a document.

What if we decide not to build software?

That is a legitimate and valuable outcome. If the Blueprint shows the problem is better solved by changing a process, configuring an existing system, or doing nothing, we say so clearly and explain why. The fee is unchanged, and the money you did not spend on the wrong build is the return.

Is €7,500 not too little for something this important?

It is deliberately a fraction of the implementation it protects, typically one to three per cent. The Sprint is a fixed, repeatable method rather than an open-ended consulting engagement, which is what makes the price both low and fixed. If it were priced as a percentage of your build, we would have an incentive to make the build bigger.

What kinds of projects are suitable?

Custom software that supports a core business process: operational systems, clinical and patient-facing tools, portals, internal platforms, and the replacement of spreadsheets or systems the organisation has outgrown. Typically where the eventual build is a five or six figure commitment.

What projects are not suitable?

Off-the-shelf software that only needs configuring, work already fully specified and out to tender, pure design or brand projects, and anything where no decision maker can commit a few hours each week. We will tell you on the first call if that is the case.

How many stakeholders should participate?

Usually between three and eight. One accountable decision maker, two or three people who know the process as it actually runs, and whoever will be responsible for the software afterwards. More voices are welcome in the review sessions; the core group stays small so decisions can be made.

How much of our time does it take?

Around five hours per week for the core group, concentrated into scheduled sessions. Everything between those sessions is our work, not yours.

Can this be done remotely?

Yes. The Sprint is designed to run entirely remotely and does so successfully. On-site sessions can be arranged where they add value, particularly during Discover.

What happens after handover?

You own the Blueprint outright and are free to proceed with anyone. We remain available to answer questions from your development partner during implementation at no cost, without taking on any of the build work, which would compromise our independence.

Yes, as standard, before any commercial or operational detail is discussed.

Independent software definition

Make the right software decision before a single line of code is written.

The Software Blueprint Sprint turns an unclear software idea into an implementation-ready blueprint in 30 days. Validated with a working prototype, priced at a fixed fee, and handed to whichever development team you choose.

We do not build the software. We make sure the right software gets built.

Book a 20-minute call See what you receive

Fixed investment: €7,500Fixed investment
Fixed timeline: 30 daysFixed timeline
Deliverables: 6Deliverables
Vendor lock-in: 0Vendor lock-in

The problem

Most software projects are not lost in development. They are lost before development begins.

A budget is approved. A vendor is selected. Development starts on a shared assumption that nobody has actually tested. Six months later the software works exactly as specified, yet it does not fit how the business runs. The cost of that gap is never in the original quote.

Starting without a Blueprint

Ambiguous requirements
Vendor interpretation
Change requests
Budget overruns
Late discovery of the real problem
Poor adoption

Starting with a Blueprint

Clear objectives
Validated prototype
Shared understanding
Fixed, comparable vendor quotes
Accurate implementation
Better adoption

The cheapest change is the one made on paper

Changing a screen in a prototype takes an afternoon. Changing it after it has been built takes a change request, a re-estimate and a delay.

Vendors quote what you write, not what you need

Vague requirements force vendors to price risk, or to price low and recover it later. A precise blueprint gives you quotes you can actually compare.

Adoption is decided before launch

The people who will use the software help shape it during the Sprint. By handover, it is already their system, not an IT project done to them.

Independence

The only advice worth paying for is advice with nothing to sell you afterwards.

Free discovery from a software company is written by the party that profits from the answer. Our role ends the day the Blueprint is handed over. That is the product.

We do not build production software

There is no development contract waiting at the end of the Sprint. Nothing we recommend makes us money later.

We do not resell or partner with vendors

No referral fees, no preferred suppliers, no commission. The Blueprint is written for you, not for a build we hope to win.

The Blueprint is yours on delivery

Full ownership of every document, workflow and prototype. Take it to your internal team, your current vendor, or three vendors at once.

'Do not build' is a valid outcome

Sometimes the honest answer is a configuration change, an existing product, or nothing at all. We deliver that finding with the same rigour, and the fee is unchanged.

The Sprint

Thirty days, four weeks, one decision.

A fixed structure with fixed dates. Roughly five hours of your leadership team's time per week, and the rest is ours.

Week 101
Discover
Understand the business before discussing software.
- Current processes, end to end
- Objectives and success measures
- Pain points and workarounds
- Stakeholder mapping
Your time: two half-day sessions
Week 202
Prototype
Turn the conversation into something people can click.
- First interactive version of the priority experience
- Concept validated with real users
- Misunderstandings surfaced early
- Scope pressure-tested
Your time: one review session
Week 303
Refine
Sharpen it until the priorities are clear and agreed.
- Stakeholder feedback incorporated
- Key business rules defined
- Important exceptions and edge cases identified
- Business requirements agreed and prioritised
Your time: one working session
Week 404
Blueprint
Hand over a package a development partner can plan from.
- Complete Blueprint Package delivered
- Implementation plan agreed
- Handover session with your chosen partner
- Our role ends here
Your time: one handover session

What this gives your development partner: enough validated business clarity to evaluate the project, prepare a credible proposal and begin technical planning without repeating the business discovery from the beginning. Technical design, estimation and validation remain their work.

The deliverable

The Blueprint Package

The prototype is what people remember. The Blueprint is what they build from. Six consolidated deliverables, produced through the four-week Sprint, so implementation planning can begin the following week.

Delivered as a single owned package. No licences, no retainer, no dependency on us.

01
Decision Brief
A clear record of the business problem, the intended outcome, success measures, agreed scope, exclusions and the key decisions made during the Sprint.
02
Interactive Prototype
A clickable version of the priority software experience that stakeholders can use, react to and align around before development begins.
03
Functional Requirements and Key Business Rules
Prioritised requirements describing what the software needs to do, together with the important logic, thresholds, permissions and exceptions identified during the Sprint.
04
Acceptance Criteria
Clear conditions for the priority requirements and workflows, so you and your development partner share an agreed understanding of what successful implementation should achieve.
05
Implementation Plan
A recommended sequence for implementation covering priorities, phases, dependencies, risks, assumptions and the open technical questions your partner should answer next.
06
Handover
A working session with you and your selected internal or external development partner to transfer the business context, explain the decisions made and answer their first questions.

The four-week Sprint is how the work is done. The Blueprint Package is what you keep. If you have not yet selected a development partner, the handover session stays available for an agreed period after the Blueprint is delivered.

Evidence

Most of our work stays confidential. Some of it is public on purpose.

Client prototypes are commercially sensitive, so they are covered by confidentiality and are shown only in a private walkthrough on request. To make our standard visible anyway, we build and publish our own prototypes in the open.

tools4humanity.com

A public library of working prototypes and small tools, built to the same standard we apply inside a Sprint.

tools4humanity.gumroad.com

Published products you can open, use and judge for yourself, without a sales call in between.

If you would like to see confidential client work, we can arrange a private walkthrough where permitted, or show anonymised extracts of a Blueprint Package.

Fit

A Blueprint Sprint is not right for every project.

We would rather tell you that on the first call than in week three.

Well suited

Custom software that will support a core business process
Replacing spreadsheets, paper or a system the organisation has outgrown
A build estimated in the tens or hundreds of thousands
Several stakeholders who do not yet fully agree on what is needed
A vendor selection or internal build decision that has to be defended
Regulated or clinical environments where getting it wrong is expensive

Not a fit

Off-the-shelf software that simply needs configuring
Work already fully specified and out to tender
Pure design or brand projects with no operational logic
Research with no intention of ever building anything
Projects where no decision maker can commit five hours a week

Investment

One fixed fee, agreed before we start.

A Blueprint Sprint typically costs a small fraction of the software it defines, and a far smaller fraction of the wrong software. No hourly billing, no scope creep, no surprises on the final invoice.

Software Blueprint Sprint

€7,500fixed

30 days

The complete Sprint. Discover, prototype, refine and hand over an implementation-ready Blueprint Package.

All six deliverables
For one clearly defined software opportunity, workflow or initial product scope
Fixed price, fixed dates
Full ownership on delivery
Handover session with your chosen partner

Start a conversation

Fast Track

Price on request

Priority delivery

For board deadlines, funding rounds and budget cycles that will not wait 30 days.

Compressed schedule
Dedicated availability
Same complete Blueprint Package

Ask about Fast Track

Preferred Client Rate

By arrangement

Returning clients

For organisations running multiple Blueprint Sprints across business units or portfolio companies.

Multiple Sprints
Consistent method across teams
Comparable Blueprints for portfolio decisions

Discuss multiple Sprints

The fixed fee covers one clearly defined software opportunity, workflow or initial product scope. The interactive prototype is one deliverable within the complete Sprint, not the product itself.

Larger, multi-workflow or highly regulated projects are scoped separately. We agree the scope in writing before the Sprint begins.

Questions

The questions executives actually ask.

If yours is not here, ask it on the call. A direct answer costs you nothing.

Start

Begin with a conversation, not a contract.

Tell us what you are considering building. We will tell you plainly whether a Blueprint Sprint would help, and what we would expect to find.

01A 20-minute call to understand what you are considering
02An honest view on whether a Blueprint Sprint is the right step
03If it is, a proposed start date and a fixed scope in writing

Prefer email? contact@n3xu.com