The diagnostic · Free call, then a written teardown
Twenty minutes, free.
Then the truth in writing.
You show me the app or describe the idea. I tell you which run you need, or that you do not need one. If it is worth going further, the diagnostic is a day of real work that ends in a document you can act on with or without me.
What you get
A written teardown, not a sales call.
The diagnostic is one working day. I read every file, run the app, look at the database, and check the things people do not think to check: where the secrets are, who can reach production, what happens when the background job fails. Then I write it down.
The document answers four questions in plain language:
- What you actually have. The real data model, the real dependencies, what the app does versus what it was supposed to do.
- What is broken, and how badly. Ranked. Security first, then data integrity, then the things that merely annoy.
- What it would take. Repair where it stands, rebuild the core in Rails, or leave it alone. Which one, and why.
- What it costs. A fixed price for the path I recommend, and what it would cost to do less.
You can hand that document to any developer and they can act on it. That is the test of whether it is worth the fee.
The fee, and how it comes back
$2,497, paid up front. If you board a run, it comes off the fare. If the teardown says you do not need a run, you get it back.
The free call comes first, and most calls end there. The diagnostic is only for cases where the honest answer is "I need to look."
What I need from you
Read access to the repository, and either a running instance or the ability to run it. If there is production data involved, day one of the diagnostic includes agreeing what I can and cannot see.
Prototype requests need less: a call, and whatever you have written down.
Pre-boarding inspection
Ten things I hear on the first call.
Tick the ones that are true. Nothing leaves your browser until you send the form, and then only your ticks travel with it, so I can read the situation before we talk.
Book the call
Steam it up.
Twenty minutes, free. No deck, no discovery process, no sales sequence. I reply personally, usually the same day, with two or three times to talk.
If you would rather skip the form: bill@atomiclocomotive.com
What happens next
1. You get a reply with times for a call.
2. We talk for twenty minutes. I ask what it is, what it was built with, and what is breaking.
3. I tell you: no run needed, a diagnostic is warranted, or you can book a run directly.