Look at the work before the proposal
Every commission starts with the person doing the job today, the decision they need to make, and what gets in the way. Questili wants time with those people, not only with the people describing the problem.
The answer may be an operations application, an applied AI workflow, an infrastructure change, or a clearer process. The job chooses the technology.
Set the boundaries before implementation
Permissions, data handling, human review points, failure cases, cost, and rollback belong in the brief. They are product decisions, not cleanup after the main build.
AI stays bounded to the job it can support. Deterministic rules and ordinary automation handle the work that should stay predictable.
Ship something small and real
The first release should be small enough to finish and sturdy enough to survive real use. It has one owner on the client side and visible acceptance criteria.
Verification goes past mocks and builds: the real browser, provider, database, authorization boundary, deployment, and recovery path all get checked.
Stay with it
Commissions run as retainers so the releases after launch get the same attention as the first. The same team carries the work throughout.
That is also why there are only a few at a time. Questili would rather run two commissions well than ten at arm's length.
The steps, in order
- 1
Look at the work
Spend time with the people who do the job today and the person who owns the outcome, before anyone writes a proposal.
- 2
Set the boundaries
Agree permissions, data handling, review points, failure cases, cost, and what counts as done.
- 3
Ship something small and real
Put a first release into use early so the next decisions come from real use.
- 4
Verify the real path
Test the actual browser, provider, database, permissions, and recovery path the work depends on.
- 5
Stay with it
Keep the same team on the work across releases, improving what proves useful.
Quick answers
How do I start a commission with Questili?
Use the enquiry form at questili.com/commissions, or write to support@questili.com. Say what your team is trying to do and what gets in the way.
Does Questili take fixed-scope projects?
Questili prefers retainers because operational software keeps changing once it meets real use. A bounded first release is part of every retainer.