How a MarS engagement works
Four steps, four deliverables,
one clear outcome.
Every engagement we run follows the same sequence. We do it this way because it's what makes consulting predictable: clear entry, clear exit, clear deliverables at each milestone, and no surprise extensions.
A 30-minute call. Free. No deck.
You tell us what you're trying to decide. We ask enough questions to tell you honestly whether MarS is the right fit for your question, and if it is, what a scoped engagement would look like. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you that too — often with a pointer to who is.
You leave this call with three things: a concrete engagement proposal (if we're a fit), a list of questions we'd need to answer during the sprint, and an honest read on whether the question is well-enough defined to be worth running a sprint on at all. Some questions aren't — we'll say so.
One or two weeks. Fixed scope. No drift.
We run your question through the ARK platform: polyspheric AI architecture, specialist expertise from the ARK-captured library, and direct human judgment on top. You see the work as it develops, not just at the end. Mid-sprint check-ins are built into the timeline so nothing lands as a surprise.
The sprint has a fixed scope defined in the proposal. If we discover something mid-sprint that changes the question itself — which happens — we'll flag it immediately and either renegotiate scope or adjust the deliverable to match the real question. No silent expansion, no silent compromise.
A short document. Clear recommendations.
Named uncertainties.
You receive a structured memo at the end of the sprint — typically 8–15 pages, not an 80-slide deck. The structure is consistent across engagements: the question restated, the findings, the recommendations, the assumptions we made, and most importantly, what we're uncertain about and why.
Every MarS deliverable names its uncertainties. We think this is the single most important difference between consulting that gets used and consulting that gets filed. Recommendations without named uncertainties are either dishonest or naive; we'd rather flag the shaky parts than pretend they're load-bearing.
Optional. Priced separately.
Only if the work earned it.
After the initial sprint we sometimes continue — implementation support, a second sprint on an adjacent question, weekly working sessions, or a longer retainer-style engagement. None of that is committed in advance, and the initial sprint is a complete deliverable on its own. Continuation is a separate decision, made after you've seen the work.
If we continue, pricing and scope are defined from scratch. We don't want follow-through that's coasting on the original proposal; each continuation is its own proper engagement.
Ready to scope a question?
Start with a 30-minute call. We'll tell you honestly whether MarS is the right fit, and if it is, what a sprint would look like. No deck, no pitch, just a conversation.