AI Architecture Review
Pressure-test the design of an AI system before you build it, or before you scale it.
- Typical timeline
- 3 to 4 weeks
- Typical timeline
- Listed below
- 6 deliverables
- Listed below
- No obligation
- Quoted after scoping
- No obligation
Built for
- Engineering and product leads about to commit to an AI build
- Teams with a pilot that works in a demo and need to know whether it will hold up in production
- Leaders who need a clear answer on whether to build, buy or wait
You recognise this
- You have a design, a prototype or a supplier proposal, and nobody outside the team has challenged it
- Cost, speed or accuracy in the pilot is not where you need it
- You are unsure where a model should not be making the decision at all
The problem
Most of the expensive mistakes in AI projects are made before any code is written: the wrong problem, a model doing work a simple rule should do, data that is not ready, or no plan for when the system is wrong. They are cheap to fix on paper and costly to fix in production. This review finds them while they are still cheap.
What you receive
- 01
Architecture assessment
A written review of your current or proposed design: data flow, model choice, retrieval, integrations, permissions and failure handling.
- 02
Risk register
Each issue we find, rated by impact and effort, with the reasoning, so you can decide what to fix and what to accept.
- 03
Build, buy or wait recommendation
A plain recommendation on whether to proceed, change course or stop, including when the honest answer is not yet.
- 04
Target architecture
A diagram and description of the design we recommend, and what changes from where you are now.
- 05
Prioritised roadmap
The next steps in order, with the dependencies between them, that your team or any supplier can act on.
- 06
Read-out session
A working session with your team to walk through the findings and answer questions.
Phases and expected timeline
- 01
Scoping
1 week
We agree the system in scope, the questions the review must answer and who we need to speak to.
- 02
Review
1 to 2 weeks
We read the design, and the code where it exists, interview the people who build and own it, and test the assumptions that matter most.
- 03
Report and read-out
1 week
You receive the written report and roadmap, and we walk your team through it.
Typical timeline: 3 to 4 weeks
Typical range for a single, well-defined scope. The clock starts once access and the people we need are in place. Your quote confirms the timeline after a scoping call.
Before we start
- A named owner on your side who can make decisions about scope
- Access to design documents, and read-only access to code and configuration where they exist
- Time with the people who build, run and own the system
- Any supplier proposals or constraints we should review against, such as data residency or procurement rules
What you can do afterwards
- You go into the build with a design that has been challenged from outside the team
- Your team has a written list of what to fix first, and why
- You can explain the decision to build, change course or stop to your board or budget holder, with the reasoning written down
- Any supplier, including us, can quote against the same target architecture
What this work is designed to achieve. Results depend on your systems and your data.
Questions about this package
Yes. We review the design on its merits, and the roadmap is written so any capable team can deliver it, not only us.
That is a good time to review it. We look at the proposal, the data you plan to use and the decisions the system will make.
Only where code exists and it helps answer the review questions. Read-only access is enough.
Because the work depends on your systems, your data and how far the scope reaches. After a scoping call we send a written quote that states the scope, the deliverables, the timeline and the cost. Larger enterprise projects are quoted separately, based on scope, integrations, deployment requirements and ongoing support.
Yes. Say so in your enquiry and we will sign one before you share details of your systems.
Yes. For example, an architecture review can lead straight into a build, and we can quote the combined work as one engagement with one plan.
Handover includes the documentation, runbook and working session your team needs to run what we delivered. If you want us to stay involved, ongoing support is quoted separately.
Get a quote for this package
Tell us about your systems and what you need. We reply with questions or times for a scoping call, then send a written quote that sets out the scope, the deliverables, the timeline and the cost.
Larger enterprise projects are quoted separately, based on scope, integrations, deployment requirements and ongoing support.
Prefer email? info@bastionshieldtechnologies.com
Often considered alongside
Custom AI Agent Development
A production AI agent built around your workflow, with evaluation, permissions and the admin screens your team needs to run it.
AI Agent Security Assessment
A structured security test of your AI agents and the systems they can reach, with findings ranked and retested once fixed.