How we work
Scope, architect, build, operate
The process
Four steps, each with a visible output
Scope
30-minute call, proposal within 3 business daysWe start with a short call to understand what you're building, what's already there, and what success looks like. Then we write it down: scope, assumptions, and price. No open-ended discovery retainer.
You see: A written proposal you can say yes or no to — scope, deliverables, timeline, and cost, with the assumptions we made explicit.
Architect
Days to two weeks, depending on scopeWe design the system before we build it — accounts, network, identity, data flow, and failure modes. Decisions get recorded as architecture decision records so the reasoning survives past this engagement.
You see: A design document, a diagram, and a set of architecture decision records. A Well-Architected review flags risks while they're still cheap to fix.
Build
The bulk of a Sprint or Foundation engagementWe build in your repositories, in code, with commits you can read. You get working increments rather than a big-bang reveal at the end, and you can steer as it takes shape.
You see: Terraform and application code in your repos, deployed to real environments, plus the runbooks needed to operate it.
Operate
Handover, or ongoing under a Retained engagementWe hand over with the documentation and access to run everything yourselves — or we stay on to operate and extend it. Either way, the system is built to be handed off, not held hostage.
You see: Runbooks, dashboards, and a handover session — or a monthly cadence of platform work if you keep us on.
Engagement models
Pick the shape that fits the work
Sprint
Fixed scope · 2–6 weeks · fixed price
A single, well-defined build with a clear finish line. Best when you know what you need — a landing zone, a CI/CD pipeline, a RAG feature — and want it built right without an open-ended contract. Scope and price are agreed before we start.
Good fit: a specific deliverable with a known shape.
Foundation
Multi-phase program · milestone-based
A larger effort that stands up your AWS foundation or migrates you onto it. Run as phases with checkpoints you approve, so budget and direction stay in your control. Each phase ends with something deployed and documented, not a status update.
Good fit: a migration or a greenfield platform, too large for one sprint.
Retained
Monthly · ongoing platform engineering
We act as your standing platform-engineering team: operating, extending, and hardening what runs on AWS. A fixed monthly engagement with a defined scope of responsibility, for when you need senior AWS engineering but aren't ready to hire it in-house.
Good fit: a live platform that needs steady hands, not another project.
Where we are
Early days, on purpose stated plainly
Stackroot is a new practice, built by engineers with prior AWS delivery experience. We would rather tell you that than paper over it with invented logos and testimonials.
As engagements complete and clients agree to be named, our first public case studies will be published here — with real architecture, real numbers, and real outcomes. Until then, the work speaks through the deliverables on the home page and the scope of the services we offer.
Ready to scope something?
Bring the problem. We'll bring the questions that turn it into a plan, and a written proposal within three business days.