Engagement Models

Software development engagement models, and who carries the risk in each

AMT offers six engagement models: a discovery sprint, a fixed-scope project, time and materials, a dedicated team, forward deployed engineering, and a capability centre in India. The model decides who carries the risk on scope, schedule and quality. Most projects start with a two to three week discovery sprint, because it makes the rest of the choice obvious.

Schedule Technical Discovery

Your first conversation will be with a senior technical partner, not a salesperson.

The six models at a glance

The six models at a glance
Model	Best when	You pay for	Typical length
Discovery sprint	The problem is clear but the scope is not	A fixed fee for a written scope, architecture and estimate range	2 to 3 weeks
Fixed-scope project	The scope is written down and unlikely to change	An agreed price for an agreed result	Weeks to months
Time and materials	The scope will change as you learn	The hours worked, against a budget you control	Ongoing
Dedicated team	You need a long-running squad that owns a product or module	A monthly fee per team	Usually 6 months or longer
Forward deployed engineering	An AI system works in a demo but not inside the real environment	An outcome agreed before the work starts	Until the deployment hits its production goal
Capability centre in India	You want your own long-term team in India under your brand	Setup plus monthly running cost	Years

Who carries which risk

This is the table competitors leave out. Every model moves risk between you and your partner. Pick the model whose risks you are best placed to carry.

Who carries which risk
Risk	Fixed scope	Time and materials	Dedicated team	Forward deployed engineering
Scope is wrong	You, through change requests	You, but you can steer weekly	You	Shared. The scope adapts to reach the agreed outcome
Schedule slips	AMT, inside the agreed scope	You	You	AMT, against the agreed milestones
Quality of the code	AMT	AMT	AMT's technical lead	AMT
Budget overrun	AMT, inside the agreed scope	You, with a cap if you set one	Predictable monthly cost	Agreed up front
Managing the work day to day	AMT	You and AMT together	You, with AMT's lead	AMT, embedded with your team
Knowledge staying with you	Handover gate	Continuous	Continuous	Handover gate

The trade-off in one line: the more certain your scope, the more risk you can hand over. The less certain, the more control you need to keep.

Three switches that work

Most projects should change model at least once. These are the three switches we see succeed.

Discovery sprint to fixed scope. Discovery produces the written scope that a fixed price needs. Without it, a fixed price is a guess with a contract around it.
Fixed scope to time and materials for phase two. Phase one ships what you knew. Phase two is shaped by real users, so it needs room to change.
Dedicated team to a capability centre. When a team has run for a year or more and you want it under your own brand, it can move into a capability centre in India.

What each model needs from you

What each model needs from you
Model	What you must provide
Fixed scope	A product owner who can sign acceptance quickly, and discipline about changes
Time and materials	Someone who prioritises the backlog every week
Dedicated team	A product lead who sets direction, and time for the team to join your rituals
Forward deployed engineering	Access to systems, data and the people who run the workflow, within days

How much each model costs

Cost depends on scope, complexity and seniority, not on the model alone.

The cost page sets out what drives effort at low, medium and high complexity.

FAQ

What are the main software development engagement models?

Fixed price (fixed scope), time and materials, and dedicated team are the three standard models. AMT also offers a discovery sprint, forward deployed engineering for AI deployments, and capability centre setup in India.

Which is better, fixed price or time and materials?

Fixed price suits work whose scope is written down and stable. Time and materials suits work that will change as you learn. If you are not sure which you have, start with a discovery sprint.

What is a discovery sprint?

A two to three week piece of work that ends in a written scope, an architecture note, the main risks and an estimate range. It is the minimum engagement with AMT.

Can I change engagement model mid-project?

Yes. The switches that work best are discovery to fixed scope, fixed scope to time and materials for phase two, and dedicated team to a capability centre.

What is the minimum engagement with AMT?

A discovery sprint.

How are change requests handled on a fixed-scope project?

Each change is written up with its effect on cost and schedule, and nothing changes until you approve it.

Is forward deployed engineering billed by the hour?

Usually not. AMT prices it around an outcome agreed before the work starts. Across the market it rarely is: a GoodFirms survey of 133 companies in mid-2026 found only 3.6% bill it as time and materials.

Tell us what you need built and how settled the scope is. We will suggest a model on the first call.

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