Frequently asked questions
The questions organizations ask us most, answered in writing. If yours isn’t covered, bring it to the mapping session. It’s free.
Why hire Systems by Design instead of an AI developer?
A developer ships an app and leaves. We redesign how the work flows, install a system that measures its own results, and train your team to own it. The app is the output. The operating capability is the product. That is why every engagement starts from your bottlenecks and a measured baseline, never from a feature list.
Who do you work with?
Nonprofits, universities and institutions, and small to mid-size organizations. The flagship systems were built with the Greater Baltimore Urban League, Morgan State University, and Destined for Success. If your operation runs on spreadsheets, inboxes, and repeated manual steps, there is measurable capacity to reclaim.
How long does an engagement take?
A focused automation ships in 2 to 3 weeks. A full portal or platform takes 3 to 6 weeks to a first working version. You see working previews in days, not months, and the baseline we map in week one is what the system is graded against.
What does an engagement cost?
Every engagement starts with a fixed-scope pilot sprint: three weeks, one working system, $2,000 to $5,000, agreed before any work starts and priced on the capacity it returns rather than hours billed. Larger platforms and multi-system builds are scoped after the pilot, once the first system has proven itself on your operation. The System Mapping Session pins down where to start, and you never receive a surprise invoice.
What if I don’t know exactly what I need?
That is the normal starting point. The System Mapping Session charts how work flows through your team today and prices what each bottleneck costs you. You leave with the two or three systems that would pay for themselves fastest, whether or not you hire us.
What happens to my data on this site?
Nothing leaves your browser. This site stores your assessment picks and visited case studies in your own device’s local storage. No accounts, no tracking pixels, no server-side records.
What happens after launch?
Your team gets a runbook and a training session, and everything ships into accounts you control. The system keeps grading itself against the baseline we mapped. An optional monthly care plan covers monitoring and improvements, and you can cancel it any month. The care plan exists for convenience, not dependence.
Who owns the code and the system?
You do. Everything ships into accounts you control, with documentation and a training session. If we part ways, the system keeps running without us.
How do you handle security and access?
Least-privilege access from day one: role-based permissions, validated inputs, audit logs, and no credentials in code. We ask for the minimum access needed and document everything we touch.
Do you use no-code tools or custom code?
Custom code where it matters, proven services where they save you money. Everything in the gallery runs on production stacks like Next.js, Python, and PostgreSQL, so you own real software, not a stack of subscriptions.
Do you work remotely?
Yes. Mapping sessions, previews, and training all happen over video calls, and you see working software at every step. Based in the Baltimore area for anything that benefits from in person.
What if the system doesn’t work for us?
Fixed scope cuts the risk: you approve a working preview before launch. If something misses the mark inside scope, we fix it. That is part of the price, not a change order.