How We Work | LUSTECH Engagement Process

How a project with us runs #

Five phases, every time. The point is to find out fast if we’re a fit, surface risk before it costs you, and make sure you know what “done” looks like before we start.

1️⃣ Discovery call #

30–45 minutes, no charge. We want to understand the problem, the systems involved, who cares about the outcome, and your timeline. By the end we’ll either propose a next step or point you to someone better suited. Both happen.

2️⃣ Written proposal #

A few days later you get a short proposal: how we understand the problem, the approach, scope, team, timeline, price. If something doesn’t match what you expected, now’s the time to find out.

3️⃣ Spike (paid) #

For anything bigger than a small fix, we start with a paid spike — usually 1–2 weeks. The spike validates the assumptions in the proposal and produces something tangible: a working prototype, a written architecture decision, or a sharper plan. It’s the cheapest way to know if the bigger plan holds up.

4️⃣ Delivery #

With what we learned in the spike, we build. Short feedback loops, working software at every milestone, no big-bang surprise at the end. We work in your tools — Slack, Linear, Jira, Teams — so the work isn’t sitting in a black box.

5️⃣ Handover & docs #

Done isn’t when the code ships. Done is when your team can run the system without us. You get architecture decisions, runbooks, integration maps, and a list of things we’d watch for. Optional: a small retainer for the first few months in case something comes up.

The team, and the long view #

LUSTECH is one architect — one phone number, one accountable name, one person who keeps the context. For work that needs more hands or different expertise — Salesforce admins, frontend developers, additional integration engineers — we bring in trusted freelance specialists we’ve shipped with before.

Most of our work is long-term. We stay with clients beyond a single project: ongoing advisory, follow-up integrations, the next platform decision. The retainer in phase 5 is the most common shape, but the idea is the same — we want your stack still working two years from now, not just at handover.

This shape works for two-week spikes and for multi-quarter platform programmes. The pieces flex. The “small, paid, reversible step before the big commitment” part doesn’t.

The thinking behind the process is on our principles page. Want to talk? Get in touch.