How we start a project.
No kick-off marathon. On day one, we're in your infrastructure, not in a workshop room.
Many projects lose the first weeks to workshops, stakeholder mappings, and PowerPoint architectures. We don't.
On day one, we have access to the infrastructure. On day two, the first pipeline is running. In the first week, there's working code.
Infrastructure access and first orientation.
We don't need an introductory presentation. We need AWS credentials, access to the repository, and a contact person who can answer questions.
On the first day, we get an overview: Which services are running? How is the architecture structured? Where are the pain points?
We document what we find. Not in PowerPoint, but in architecture decision records in the repository.
First pipeline, first results.
Before we discuss architecture, we build a CI/CD pipeline. Not because it's the most important thing, but because it accelerates everything else.
Every change we make after that is immediately testable and deployable. No manual deployment, no waiting for ops teams.
In parallel, we analyze the existing infrastructure and identify quick wins: What can we improve immediately, without risk?
By the end of day 3, there's the first merge request with real code.
Working code instead of concept papers.
After one week, a working system exists. Not complete, but functional.
Something you can show. Something you can test.
We work in short cycles: Build, show, incorporate feedback. Every day. Not every two weeks in a sprint review.
The client sees progress every day. Not in status reports, but in working software.
That builds trust. And trust is the foundation for everything that comes after.
Architecture decisions in code, not in slides.
In week 2, the fundamental architecture decisions are made. Not on paper, but in code. Infrastructure as code, tested deployments, documented decisions.
If something doesn't work, we find out now, not after 3 months of concept phase.
From prototype to system.
Starting in week 3, the prototype becomes a system. We harden the architecture, implement security, build monitoring.
By the end of week 4, a system exists that real users can work with.
Not an MVP on a whiteboard, but software in production.
Continuous improvement.
After the initial setup, we work in a continuous mode: New features, performance optimization, scaling.
The difference from others: We don't have a change request process. We have a backlog and deliver every day.
We don't waste time planning. We use it to build.
This approach works because we do it this way in every project. At Siemens, at VW, at Siemens Energy. The technologies change, the approach stays.
At the end of the kickoff, the client doesn't have a concept paper. They have a running system and the confidence that we deliver.