Request a proposal
Senior engineering scoping , not boilerplate.
A written proposal in 5 business days, including an Architecture Decision Record, milestone-based scope, named bench composition, honest budget bracket, and a risk register. The senior engineers who’d staff the engagement scope it.
- Turnaround
- 5 business days
- NDA
- NDA on request
- Output
- 10–25 page ADR + scope
What’s in the proposal
Six things, in writing.
Every proposal we ship includes the artifacts below. No boilerplate; no marketing-team output dressed up as scoping. The senior engineers who’d staff the engagement do the scoping themselves.
- 01
Architecture Decision Record
10–25 page ADR documenting the architectural shape we'd ship, with explicit trade-offs and named alternatives. The ADR becomes the contract for delivery.
- 02
Milestone-based scope
Project decomposed into 3–8 milestones with named acceptance criteria. Each milestone has a deliverable, an owner, and a sign-off gate.
- 03
Bench composition
Named engineers proposed by role and seniority. The bench in the proposal is the bench in production. No bait-and-switch.
- 04
Honest budget bracket
Fixed-price quote with explicit cost-driver analysis. Scope evolution handled through a documented change-order process.
- 05
Risk register
What we think will go wrong, who owns it, and what the mitigation looks like. Risk on us, risk on you, risk we share.
- 06
Engagement model fit
Recommended engagement model (Project-Based / Dedicated Teams / Managed Services) with explicit reasoning. Sometimes the right answer is a hybrid; we'll say so.
Proposal process
Four steps, 5 days from discovery to delivery.
- 01
Submit the request
Tell us what you're building, the regulatory frame, integration surface, timeline pressure, and budget shape if you have one. The intake form takes 5 minutes; CITADEL signs an NDA before we read it if you flag the request as confidential.
- 02
Discovery call (60 minutes)
A senior engineer plus the relevant department lead. We use the time to understand the workload, the constraints we hadn't seen in the brief, and the success criteria you'd grade us on.
- 03
Internal scoping (3–5 business days)
We scope, the senior engineers who'll staff it review, the department lead signs off, and CATALYST drafts the proposal. We don't farm proposal authoring to a junior team.
- 04
Proposal delivered (5 business days)
Written proposal sent under NDA where applicable. We schedule a 30-minute walkthrough call so you can ask the questions that don't fit in writing. No follow-up sequence; we'll wait for your decision.
Common questions
Before you submit.
- 01
Do you respond to RFPs?
Yes: for engagements where we're a substantive fit. We're selective about which RFPs we respond to; we'd rather decline a fit-stretch RFP than spend ten days drafting a proposal we wouldn't win on the merits. The intake form gives us enough to make that call honestly.
- 02
How quickly can you turn around a proposal?
5 business days from the discovery call is the default. Faster turnarounds (3 business days) are possible for engagements where we've shipped the same pattern recently. Some procurement processes require 10+ business days for our internal review; we'll tell you upfront which timeline we can hit.
- 03
Will you sign our NDA?
Standard mutual NDA: yes, typically signed within 1 business day. Custom NDA: usually within 3–5 business days through legal review. We'll work with most enterprise legal teams' redlines without friction. If procurement requires an NDA before substantive conversation, we'll have it back to you within 1 business day.
- 04
What information do you need in the request?
Workload description, regulatory frame, integration surface (existing systems we'd touch), timeline pressure, and budget shape if you have one. If you have an architecture diagram or technical brief, attach it. We don't require completeness. The discovery call surfaces what's missing.
- 05
Can you respond on a procurement framework?
Yes. We work with most major procurement frameworks (Coupa, SAP Ariba, Oracle Sourcing, Ivalua, custom). We're typically empaneled within 1–3 weeks of customer initiation depending on the framework's vendor onboarding flow. CITADEL's audit pack (SOC 2, security questionnaire, DPA template) supports framework registration without scrambling.
- 06
What if we're not ready for a full proposal?
Free consultation or a 30-minute discovery call is the right starting point. RFPs are appropriate when scope is bounded enough to scope; for earlier-stage conversations, the lighter-touch options usually serve better.
Submit RFP
Ready for a written proposal?
5 business days, ADR + milestones + named bench, NDA on request. No follow-up sequence; we’ll wait for your decision.