Readiness, acceptance & defined gates
Delivery Readiness / Technical Acceptance
Is what you are about to hand over genuinely ready? Should you accept what has been delivered?
A scoped technical opinion against agreed criteria. For a supplier, Delivery Readiness checks a delivery before handover. For a client, Technical Acceptance checks what has been delivered against the agreed acceptance criteria. Milestone and remediation rechecks follow the same approach, and the client keeps the acceptance decision.
What you receive
The result of this engagement.
A technical conclusion against the agreed gate criteria, with supported evidence, remaining risks and conditions for the responsible owner.
- A mapping of the reviewed evidence to agreed criteria, recording what was examined and what remains unverified.
- A qualified technical conclusion, remaining risks and conditions for the defined gate.
- A walkthrough led by our senior architect for the agreed recipients, with the contracting party and appropriate reliance made explicit.
When this helps
Recognise the situation.
- A supplier is handing over an AI feature, and you need evidence that its answers, access controls and failure handling meet the agreed criteria.
- A supplier wants a technical check before a defined handover.
- A client needs an opinion against agreed technical acceptance criteria.
- An agreed milestone, significant change or remediation item needs a focused recheck.
Engagement options
Readiness, acceptance or a defined recheck.
Delivery Readiness
Supplier-side technical check before handover; agree criteria, funding, recipients and reliance. A supplier-funded review is not an independent opinion for the end client.
Technical Acceptance
Client-side opinion against agreed technical acceptance criteria; the client retains acceptance.
Milestone & Remediation Rechecks
A focused evidence check for an agreed milestone, significant change or remediation question.
Other supplier or delivery questions
Route by the decision, not the delivery stage.
- A proposal needs a second opinion: Architecture Peer Review examines a clearly defined architecture question. Comparing several supplier proposals is scoped separately, with its criteria, recipients and reliance agreed.
- The causes are not understood: Assess investigates the situation; Architect defines a response when a sufficient baseline exists.
- Decisions need continuing challenge: Govern provides architecture authority within agreed responsibilities during implementation.
- Evidence must support a defined commitment: scope the readiness, acceptance or recheck engagement above. It is not a general delivery-management retainer.
How it works
Evidence appropriate to the question.
Define the engagement
Agree the gate, criteria, contracting party, evidence, recipients and appropriate independence arrangement.
Evaluate the evidence
Examine the agreed architecture and delivery evidence against the criteria; include qualified specialist validation where agreed in the scope.
State the conclusion
Identify supported criteria, exceptions, missing evidence and remaining risks. The client retains its acceptance or commitment decision.
Scope & responsibility
Agree the scope and depth. Keep the boundaries clear.
Scope of the engagement
This is a technical judgment for a defined gate, not ongoing governance or a general delivery-health diagnosis. The criteria, the evidence, the expertise needed and who will rely on the result determine the scope. Other supplier and delivery questions are routed by their purpose below.
Limits of reliance
Vendor-funded delivery readiness and client-side technical acceptance are different engagements. The client retains acceptance. Architecture review is not legal compliance certification or a substitute for specialist security testing.
The agreed scope of the engagement sets the coverage, deliverables, responsibilities, timing and fixed fee. Any change to the scope is agreed in writing.
Questions
Before you book.
Can a delivery company engage you for the review?
Yes, with the funding, recipients, reliance and independence description agreed clearly. That is different from a client-side acceptance engagement.
Does this certify regulatory compliance?
No. Selected framework-specific technical criteria can be explored in a qualified partner-led scope; this does not establish compliance with a whole framework or legal article.
How long does it take?
A single check on a small delivery usually takes about a week. A full acceptance review usually takes two to three weeks, longer for a large system. We agree the timing and a fixed fee before work starts.
Related work
Related services
Each is available as a standalone service when the evidence and scope support it.
What's the decision in front of you?
Tell us the situation and what you intend to commit to. 25 minutes on Teams, no preparation needed. If this scope is not the right fit, we will say so.