Software Development Consulting Services

Senior, hands-on consulting to design, de-risk, and deliver software that ships. Sheridan Technologies helps teams plan the right architecture, modernize legacy systems, and rescue late or technically stalled programs, with clear ownership and measurable progress.

Request a Consultation Get a Software Assessment

Based in Vancouver, WA. Supporting distributed teams across the U.S. and beyond.

When Software Development Consulting Is the Right Move

Software initiatives typically fail for predictable reasons: unclear requirements, brittle architecture, uncontrolled scope, integration surprises, and insufficient verification. If any of the following feel familiar, consulting is often the fastest way to regain predictability.

• Your roadmap is slipping, estimates are unreliable, or releases are increasingly risky.
• You inherited a codebase with low confidence, minimal tests, and unclear ownership.
• Modernization is overdue (cloud migration, monolith to services, framework upgrades), but the plan is unclear.
• Performance, reliability, or security issues are consuming the team.
• Vendors are not delivering, or internal teams are blocked on architecture and decision-making.
• You need senior technical leadership quickly, without a lengthy hiring cycle.

What We Consult On

We provide pragmatic, outcome-oriented consulting across the full software lifecycle, from discovery and architecture to delivery systems and production hardening.

Architecture & Technical Strategy

• Architecture reviews, risk assessments, and decision support (trade studies, ADRs)
• System design for reliability, scale, maintainability, and security
• Integration planning, API strategy, data contracts, and interface diligence
• Cloud-native strategy and migration planning (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Modernization & Systems Integration

• Legacy modernization roadmaps, incremental refactors, and de-risked migration plans
• System integration across old and new platforms, third-party services, and internal tools
• Data migrations, observability upgrades, and performance tuning

Delivery Systems, DevOps, and Quality

• CI/CD pipeline design, release engineering, and environment strategy
• Test strategy, test automation, and quality gates (unit, integration, system, regression)
• Operational readiness: monitoring, logging, alerting, incident response, runbooks
• Engineering discipline improvements: code review standards, branching strategy, definition of done

Product, Requirements, and Execution Support

• Discovery workshops, requirements clarification, and acceptance-test alignment
• Sprint planning, milestone design, and progress artifacts that stakeholders can trust
• Technical program support for complex, cross-functional programs

AI Integration (When It Creates Measurable Value)

• Practical AI integration into products and workflows, not hype
• Automation to reduce toil, improve throughput, and increase operational leverage
• Evaluation of feasibility, risk, privacy, and maintainability for AI-enabled features

Our Consulting Approach: Predictability Through Discipline

We operate as a trusted advisor and an extension of your team. Our goal is to reduce uncertainty early, deliver testable increments, and provide decision-quality artifacts throughout the engagement.

1. Discovery & First-Principles Framing
   Clarify outcomes, constraints, and what “done” means. We separate real needs from perceived asks.
2. Risk-Aware Scoping
   Conservative plans, explicit assumptions, and visible risks with mitigation options.
3. Sprint Delivery With Demos
   Short cycles, frequent demos, and measurable progress, not status theater.
4. Integration & Verification
   We validate systems working together, not just individual components.
5. Production Handoff & Support
   Documentation, training, runbooks, and ownership transfer that sticks.

What You Get (Typical Deliverables)

Deliverables are tailored to your program, but software consulting should produce concrete artifacts you can execute against.

• Architecture assessment, system diagrams, and a prioritized technical risk register
• Modernization or integration roadmap with sequencing and decision points
• Backlog triage and delivery plan aligned to business outcomes
• CI/CD and release plan, including quality gates and environment strategy
• Testing strategy and a pragmatic automation plan
• Operational readiness plan, observability improvements, and incident response runbooks
• Executive-ready summary with recommendations, timelines, and tradeoffs

Engagement Models

Choose the engagement model that reduces risk and accelerates value, without creating unnecessary process overhead.

1) Software Assessment (1–3 weeks)

• Fast, structured audit of architecture, delivery systems, and operational risk
• Clear recommendations and a prioritized action plan
• Ideal for new initiatives, inherited codebases, or modernization planning

2) Rescue Sprint (2–6 weeks)

• Stabilize delivery, reduce technical risk, and restore momentum
• Root-cause analysis, hardening, and decision support for the path forward
• Ideal for late, over-budget, technically stalled programs

3) Fractional Technical Leadership (Monthly)

• Senior architecture and execution leadership without a full-time hire
• Technical decision-making, hiring support, vendor oversight, and roadmap alignment

4) Delivery Partnership (Project or Retainer)

• We embed or lead a senior team to ship milestones, with demos and artifact-based progress
• Best when you need both consulting and hands-on execution

Commercials: We typically use time and materials with sprint demos, fixed-price is available when requirements are stable and risks are bounded.

Why Sheridan Technologies

We are built for high-stakes delivery. Clients choose Sheridan Technologies when they need speed, rigor, and clear accountability, without big-consultancy bloat.

• Dynamic Expert Network™, senior specialists on demand for each phase, without idle cost
• Single accountable program lead, no finger-pointing, fewer handoffs, cleaner execution
• Quality and compliance mindset, security, verification, and disciplined engineering practices built in
• Cross-domain capability, software plus firmware, hardware, AI, and real-world integration when your product demands it
• Rescue-first pragmatism, we specialize in restoring predictability to stressed programs
• Trusted advisor posture, transparent communication, and early fit assessment, including referrals when appropriate

Industries and Use Cases

We support organizations building and operating complex systems where failure is expensive and integration is non-trivial.

• Aerospace and defense software systems, secure platforms, and mission-critical tooling
• Medical and regulated environments where verification and traceability matter
• Industrial automation, robotics, and connected products
• B2B platforms, data products, dashboards, and internal operations tooling

Technology Areas

We adapt to your stack, and we can recommend pragmatic choices based on constraints, risk, and lifecycle support.

• Architecture: monoliths, modular monoliths, services, event-driven systems
• Cloud and DevOps: CI/CD, IaC, observability, secure deployment practices
• Data: APIs, ETL, analytics pipelines, operational reporting
• Product delivery: sprint systems, requirements, acceptance criteria, stakeholder alignment

FAQ

Are you a dev shop or a consultancy?

Both. We can advise, augment, or deliver turn-key. We recommend the model that reduces risk and accelerates outcomes.

How quickly can you start?

Often within days, depending on scope and access to stakeholders and systems. We move quickly when urgency is high.

Do you work with in-house teams?

Yes. We commonly embed with internal engineering teams to provide senior guidance, unblock decisions, and improve delivery systems.

What does a software assessment include?

Typically: architecture review, delivery pipeline review, operational risk analysis, a prioritized backlog, and an execution roadmap with tradeoffs.

Can you rescue a failing project without rewriting everything?

Often, yes. We aim for the smallest set of changes that restore predictability and reduce risk, while keeping a long-term modernization plan in view.

Do you offer fixed-price work?

When requirements are stable and risks are bounded. Otherwise we use time and materials with clear deliverables, demo cadence, and transparent change control.

How do you handle IP and confidentiality?

Client IP remains yours. We typically operate under NDA and can support additional data-handling requirements based on your environment.

What if you are not the right fit?

We will say so early and, when helpful, recommend other partners. Integrity over transactions.

Talk to a Senior Software Consultant

If you want a clear plan, predictable delivery, and engineering discipline that reduces risk, we should talk. The first step is a short consultation to understand your goals, constraints, and current blockers.

Request a Consultation Get a Software Assessment

Local: Vancouver, WA. Remote: available for distributed teams.