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GEARS / FAQ

Questions worth answering before the project starts.

Commercial, strategic, design and technical questions we hear most often — grouped by how the work actually happens.

1380 questions / 4 categories
01

Consulting & strategy

Discovery, audits, requirements, product direction and decision support.

01What does consulting & strategy usually include?+

We shape consulting & strategy around the business problem, combining only the research, strategy, design and technical work needed for the outcome.

02When should we bring GEARS into consulting & strategy?+

Bring us in as early as useful. Early involvement gives us more room to challenge assumptions and reduce expensive rework.

03What is the typical starting budget for consulting & strategy?+

The starting point depends on scope. Defined build projects usually start at From £5k; focused consulting or audit work can start lower.

04How long does a consulting & strategy engagement take?+

Timing depends on complexity and decision speed. Focused work can take weeks; larger product or platform engagements usually run across several months.

05Can consulting & strategy be a standalone engagement?+

Yes. consulting & strategy can be commissioned on its own when there is a clear decision or outcome to produce.

06Can you work with our existing team on consulting & strategy?+

Yes. We often work alongside internal product, marketing, engineering or leadership teams and define responsibilities at the start.

07Can you audit what we already have before consulting & strategy?+

Yes. Reviewing the existing experience, stack and operating model is often the fastest way to avoid rebuilding the wrong thing.

08What do you need from us to start consulting & strategy?+

Useful context, access to the right people, existing data or systems where relevant, and a clear owner for decisions.

09Do you deliver consulting & strategy internationally?+

Yes. We work across markets from London and Poznań and structure collaboration around time zones and decision cadence.

10Can workshops for consulting & strategy be remote?+

Yes. Most workshops can run remotely; in-person sessions can be arranged when they materially improve the work.

11Who from GEARS works on consulting & strategy?+

A small senior team shaped around the engagement. You work directly with people doing the thinking and delivery.

12Do you subcontract parts of consulting & strategy?+

We keep the core relationship direct. If a specialist partner is needed, we make that explicit rather than hiding it inside a black box.

13How do you handle scope changes during consulting & strategy?+

We surface the effect on budget, timing and dependencies before changing the commitment, then agree the trade-off with you.

14How do you measure whether consulting & strategy worked?+

We define useful success measures at the start: business outcomes, behaviour, performance, operational effort or delivery risk depending on the engagement.

15Can you sign an NDA before discussing consulting & strategy?+

Yes. We can review and sign a reasonable mutual NDA before sensitive technical or commercial detail is shared.

16How do we communicate during consulting & strategy?+

Directly and regularly. We prefer short decision loops, written context and access to the people who can unblock the work.

17What happens after consulting & strategy is delivered?+

We can hand over cleanly, continue as a product partner, or support optimisation, monitoring and further delivery.

18Can we start small with consulting & strategy?+

Yes. An audit, discovery sprint or focused prototype can reduce uncertainty before committing to a larger programme.

19What if our requirements for consulting & strategy are unclear?+

That is normal. Clarifying the requirements is often part of the engagement rather than something you must finish before contacting us.

20How do we book a first conversation about consulting & strategy?+

Use the brief or estimate flow and give us the context. After qualification, we can book a focused 30-minute introduction.

02

Design & brand

UX/UI, prototyping, design systems, branding and creative direction.

01What does design & brand usually include?+

We shape design & brand around the business problem, combining only the research, strategy, design and technical work needed for the outcome.

02When should we bring GEARS into design & brand?+

Bring us in as early as useful. Early involvement gives us more room to challenge assumptions and reduce expensive rework.

03What is the typical starting budget for design & brand?+

The starting point depends on scope. Defined build projects usually start at From £5k; focused consulting or audit work can start lower.

04How long does a design & brand engagement take?+

Timing depends on complexity and decision speed. Focused work can take weeks; larger product or platform engagements usually run across several months.

05Can design & brand be a standalone engagement?+

Yes. design & brand can be commissioned on its own when there is a clear decision or outcome to produce.

06Can you work with our existing team on design & brand?+

Yes. We often work alongside internal product, marketing, engineering or leadership teams and define responsibilities at the start.

07Can you audit what we already have before design & brand?+

Yes. Reviewing the existing experience, stack and operating model is often the fastest way to avoid rebuilding the wrong thing.

08What do you need from us to start design & brand?+

Useful context, access to the right people, existing data or systems where relevant, and a clear owner for decisions.

09Do you deliver design & brand internationally?+

Yes. We work across markets from London and Poznań and structure collaboration around time zones and decision cadence.

10Can workshops for design & brand be remote?+

Yes. Most workshops can run remotely; in-person sessions can be arranged when they materially improve the work.

11Who from GEARS works on design & brand?+

A small senior team shaped around the engagement. You work directly with people doing the thinking and delivery.

12Do you subcontract parts of design & brand?+

We keep the core relationship direct. If a specialist partner is needed, we make that explicit rather than hiding it inside a black box.

13How do you handle scope changes during design & brand?+

We surface the effect on budget, timing and dependencies before changing the commitment, then agree the trade-off with you.

14How do you measure whether design & brand worked?+

We define useful success measures at the start: business outcomes, behaviour, performance, operational effort or delivery risk depending on the engagement.

15Can you sign an NDA before discussing design & brand?+

Yes. We can review and sign a reasonable mutual NDA before sensitive technical or commercial detail is shared.

16How do we communicate during design & brand?+

Directly and regularly. We prefer short decision loops, written context and access to the people who can unblock the work.

17What happens after design & brand is delivered?+

We can hand over cleanly, continue as a product partner, or support optimisation, monitoring and further delivery.

18Can we start small with design & brand?+

Yes. An audit, discovery sprint or focused prototype can reduce uncertainty before committing to a larger programme.

19What if our requirements for design & brand are unclear?+

That is normal. Clarifying the requirements is often part of the engagement rather than something you must finish before contacting us.

20How do we book a first conversation about design & brand?+

Use the brief or estimate flow and give us the context. After qualification, we can book a focused 30-minute introduction.

03

Development & technology

Web applications, platforms, APIs, data, infrastructure and performance.

01What does development & technology usually include?+

We shape development & technology around the business problem, combining only the research, strategy, design and technical work needed for the outcome.

02When should we bring GEARS into development & technology?+

Bring us in as early as useful. Early involvement gives us more room to challenge assumptions and reduce expensive rework.

03What is the typical starting budget for development & technology?+

The starting point depends on scope. Defined build projects usually start at From £5k; focused consulting or audit work can start lower.

04How long does a development & technology engagement take?+

Timing depends on complexity and decision speed. Focused work can take weeks; larger product or platform engagements usually run across several months.

05Can development & technology be a standalone engagement?+

Yes. development & technology can be commissioned on its own when there is a clear decision or outcome to produce.

06Can you work with our existing team on development & technology?+

Yes. We often work alongside internal product, marketing, engineering or leadership teams and define responsibilities at the start.

07Can you audit what we already have before development & technology?+

Yes. Reviewing the existing experience, stack and operating model is often the fastest way to avoid rebuilding the wrong thing.

08What do you need from us to start development & technology?+

Useful context, access to the right people, existing data or systems where relevant, and a clear owner for decisions.

09Do you deliver development & technology internationally?+

Yes. We work across markets from London and Poznań and structure collaboration around time zones and decision cadence.

10Can workshops for development & technology be remote?+

Yes. Most workshops can run remotely; in-person sessions can be arranged when they materially improve the work.

11Who from GEARS works on development & technology?+

A small senior team shaped around the engagement. You work directly with people doing the thinking and delivery.

12Do you subcontract parts of development & technology?+

We keep the core relationship direct. If a specialist partner is needed, we make that explicit rather than hiding it inside a black box.

13How do you handle scope changes during development & technology?+

We surface the effect on budget, timing and dependencies before changing the commitment, then agree the trade-off with you.

14How do you measure whether development & technology worked?+

We define useful success measures at the start: business outcomes, behaviour, performance, operational effort or delivery risk depending on the engagement.

15Can you sign an NDA before discussing development & technology?+

Yes. We can review and sign a reasonable mutual NDA before sensitive technical or commercial detail is shared.

16How do we communicate during development & technology?+

Directly and regularly. We prefer short decision loops, written context and access to the people who can unblock the work.

17What happens after development & technology is delivered?+

We can hand over cleanly, continue as a product partner, or support optimisation, monitoring and further delivery.

18Can we start small with development & technology?+

Yes. An audit, discovery sprint or focused prototype can reduce uncertainty before committing to a larger programme.

19What if our requirements for development & technology are unclear?+

That is normal. Clarifying the requirements is often part of the engagement rather than something you must finish before contacting us.

20How do we book a first conversation about development & technology?+

Use the brief or estimate flow and give us the context. After qualification, we can book a focused 30-minute introduction.

04

Commerce & delivery

E-commerce, integrations, launches, support and ongoing product delivery.

01What does commerce & delivery usually include?+

We shape commerce & delivery around the business problem, combining only the research, strategy, design and technical work needed for the outcome.

02When should we bring GEARS into commerce & delivery?+

Bring us in as early as useful. Early involvement gives us more room to challenge assumptions and reduce expensive rework.

03What is the typical starting budget for commerce & delivery?+

The starting point depends on scope. Defined build projects usually start at From £5k; focused consulting or audit work can start lower.

04How long does a commerce & delivery engagement take?+

Timing depends on complexity and decision speed. Focused work can take weeks; larger product or platform engagements usually run across several months.

05Can commerce & delivery be a standalone engagement?+

Yes. commerce & delivery can be commissioned on its own when there is a clear decision or outcome to produce.

06Can you work with our existing team on commerce & delivery?+

Yes. We often work alongside internal product, marketing, engineering or leadership teams and define responsibilities at the start.

07Can you audit what we already have before commerce & delivery?+

Yes. Reviewing the existing experience, stack and operating model is often the fastest way to avoid rebuilding the wrong thing.

08What do you need from us to start commerce & delivery?+

Useful context, access to the right people, existing data or systems where relevant, and a clear owner for decisions.

09Do you deliver commerce & delivery internationally?+

Yes. We work across markets from London and Poznań and structure collaboration around time zones and decision cadence.

10Can workshops for commerce & delivery be remote?+

Yes. Most workshops can run remotely; in-person sessions can be arranged when they materially improve the work.

11Who from GEARS works on commerce & delivery?+

A small senior team shaped around the engagement. You work directly with people doing the thinking and delivery.

12Do you subcontract parts of commerce & delivery?+

We keep the core relationship direct. If a specialist partner is needed, we make that explicit rather than hiding it inside a black box.

13How do you handle scope changes during commerce & delivery?+

We surface the effect on budget, timing and dependencies before changing the commitment, then agree the trade-off with you.

14How do you measure whether commerce & delivery worked?+

We define useful success measures at the start: business outcomes, behaviour, performance, operational effort or delivery risk depending on the engagement.

15Can you sign an NDA before discussing commerce & delivery?+

Yes. We can review and sign a reasonable mutual NDA before sensitive technical or commercial detail is shared.

16How do we communicate during commerce & delivery?+

Directly and regularly. We prefer short decision loops, written context and access to the people who can unblock the work.

17What happens after commerce & delivery is delivered?+

We can hand over cleanly, continue as a product partner, or support optimisation, monitoring and further delivery.

18Can we start small with commerce & delivery?+

Yes. An audit, discovery sprint or focused prototype can reduce uncertainty before committing to a larger programme.

19What if our requirements for commerce & delivery are unclear?+

That is normal. Clarifying the requirements is often part of the engagement rather than something you must finish before contacting us.

20How do we book a first conversation about commerce & delivery?+

Use the brief or estimate flow and give us the context. After qualification, we can book a focused 30-minute introduction.

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