Project definition
We turn a business aim into a scope, a sequence of releases, and a budget range management can approve. The brief names what is in the first release, what waits, and what would make the project larger than intended.
Advisory firm
We help management decide what to build, how the work should be run, and where the technical risk sits. The advice is independent of the team that writes the code.
Practice
Engagements start before a large build, or when a project already underway needs a clearer brief.
We turn a business aim into a scope, a sequence of releases, and a budget range management can approve. The brief names what is in the first release, what waits, and what would make the project larger than intended.
We advise how the work should be staffed, governed, and reported, so progress is visible to the people paying for it. That includes who decides scope changes, how often management sees status, and what “done” means for each release.
We review architecture, vendors, and build-or-buy options, and say which decisions are hard to reverse. The note is written for a non-technical sponsor as well as for the people who will live with the system.
We stay on as an advisor while the project is built, and flag scope, cost, and risk before they become surprises. We do not manage the developers day to day. We keep the original decision in view.
Situations
The project is real, the budget is about to be committed, and management wants a view that does not come from the team asking for the money.
Leadership has a proposal and needs to know whether the scope, the sequence, and the cost range are sound enough to start.
Two parties describe the same system differently. We read both accounts and say where the disagreement actually sits.
Dates have moved more than once. We look at scope, staffing, and decisions that were left open, and say what has to change for the next date to hold.
The old software still runs the business. We help set what the replacement must do first, and what can stay on the old system for a while.
What you receive
Every engagement ends with a document the sponsor can keep. The form depends on the question.
Scope, release order, assumptions, and the decisions still open. Written so a board or an owner can approve a start.
The options, the one we recommend, and the cost of changing that choice later. Used for vendors, architecture, and build-or-buy.
What moved since the last review, what is at risk, and what management should decide this month. Used while a build is underway.
Approach
We do not sell software licenses or staff a development team. The work product is advice: a brief, a recommendation, or a steering note.
Each engagement has a named client contact and an agreed end date. Materials stay with the client. We do not keep a copy of source code, customer data, or commercial terms beyond what the brief requires.
If the question is smaller than a full review, we say so on the first call and suggest a shorter piece of work.
The firm
Tereza Gardonova is a consulting practice for software development projects. Clients are companies that need an outside view before they commit budget, or while a build is in motion.
The practice reports to management. It does not replace the engineers, the product owner, or the vendor. It makes the project easier to govern.
Typical sponsors are an owner, a managing director, or the person accountable for the technology budget. The people who build the system are interviewed. They are not the client of the advice.
Work covers new products, replacements of systems already in use, and projects shared between an internal team and an outside supplier. Industry is less important than whether the decision is large enough to need a written view.
Questions
No. The practice advises on the project. Building, testing, and operating the system stay with the client’s team or its vendor.
A decision note is often a few weeks. Steering through an active build is agreed month by month, with an end date written down. The first call is used to say which of those fits.
The sponsor, and the people who own the scope, the budget, and the system as it is today. We do not need the whole company in the room.
A short description of the project, the decision you need, and the date it is due. Proposals and plans can follow after the call, once we know they are relevant.
Yes. The advice stays independent of that vendor. If a choice is already fixed, we say what that choice commits you to, rather than reopening it for its own sake.
Contact
Call with the project name, the decision you need, and when you need it.