Systems & AI Discovery
A paid discovery engagement from $2,500 that defines the problem, captures requirements, and architects the right software, AI, or automation solution before a line of production code is written.
Most failed software spends its budget building the wrong thing well. Discovery exists to make that impossible: we understand the operation, define the problem, capture the requirements, and architect the solution — before engineering begins.
This is the software, AI, and automation route. It is distinct from the $250 Birchline Discovery Session, which is a web & commerce planning conversation and does not replace this engagement.
What Discovery includes
Operational understanding
We sit with how the business actually runs — the workflow, the handoffs, the workarounds, and the parts held together by individual people.
Problem definition
We separate the symptom from the cause and name the problem precisely enough that it can be engineered against.
Requirements
Functional, operational, data, integration, and security requirements — written down, agreed, and scoped.
Solution architecture
The recommended system design: data model, integration boundaries, where AI is genuinely useful, and where it is not.
Delivery plan and investment
A phased plan with sequencing, dependencies, and a realistic engineering investment range — no surprises at proposal stage.
How you get here, and what happens next
Free 30-minute intro call
We establish whether Birchline is the right partner and whether there is a meaningful problem worth solving. No cost, no obligation.
Systems & AI Discovery — from $2,500
A paid, focused engagement ending in a written architecture and delivery plan you own outright. Timing is agreed before kickoff based on scope and current engineering capacity.
Engineering engagement
If we build it, the Discovery becomes the foundation of the engagement. If you take the plan elsewhere, it still stands on its own.
Ongoing engineering
From $4,000/month to maintain, secure, improve, and evolve the systems we build.
Investment
From $2,500
The final figure depends on the size of the operation and the number of systems in scope, and is agreed in writing before the engagement begins. The deliverable is yours regardless of whether Birchline goes on to build the system.