Each commission has
a scope, an output
and a decision.

Seichō connects the commercial objective to an agreed commission, with leadership approval determining what follows.

Engagements: Four stages, governance throughout
Fees: Fixed, set out in a written proposal
Where it starts: A briefing, then the Operating Model Diagnostic or accepted equivalent evidence
Bases: Dublin, Belfast and London

The route connects evidence to delivery.

Each stage has its own scope; governance carries access, approval and audit through the whole engagement.

Govern: access, approval and audit from the first conversation

What it decides: Where further investment is justified, based on how the operation runs and the records it depends on.
What leadership receives: The current-state map traces records and decisions. Ranked opportunities and the signed recommendation establish a basis for investment.
Duration and start: 2 to 3 weeks. The clock starts when permissions, representative records and the interview schedule are agreed.
Entry evidence: The commercial objective, representative records, available volume and time data, system documentation and relevant policies.
The decision it leads to: Build, buy, defer or stop. An Operating Plan can define an approved investment in detail.

What it decides: The operating change, investment and first release to put forward for approval.
What leadership receives: The investment case connects the target architecture to a first-release specification, its sequence and acceptance criteria.
Duration and start: 4 to 6 weeks after a Diagnostic or accepted equivalent evidence. The clock starts once the entry evidence and scope are accepted.
Entry evidence: A recommendation, commercial objective and baseline, operating constraints and an accountable sponsor. Equivalent evidence is assessed against the same requirements.
The decision it leads to: Approval of what to commission, in what sequence and against which acceptance criteria.

What it decides: How the approved specification becomes an operating system, with evidence for acceptance.
What leadership receives: The delivered software arrives with acceptance evidence, the runbook for its operation and an assisted migration from the old system.
Duration and start: First-release planning range: 8 to 12 weeks. The proposal sets the start date against the agreed scope, access and dependencies.
Entry evidence: An approved specification or accepted equivalent, representative records, agreed access and named process and release owners.
The decision it leads to: Whether the evidence supports release and operational handover.

What it decides: What to maintain, improve or retire, using evidence from the system in operation.
What leadership receives: A service owner holds responsibility for the agreed system scope, with monitoring and operating reviews. Where the business needs an ongoing technology lead, Stewardship can include a fractional CTO.
Duration and start: 6-month initial term, then quarterly renewal. The term starts on the service commencement date set out in the proposal.
Entry evidence: An accepted system, its runbook, agreed access, a responsibility record and the available operating baseline.
The decision it leads to: Renewal, an agreed improvement scope, transfer or retirement.

Fees are fixed and set out in a written proposal. The briefing establishes scope.

Six factors set the scope, and with it the fee.

Third-party costs, including licences, hosting, usage and independent testing where scoped, are set out separately in the proposal.