How we work

Agent delivery, from real work to handover.

The sequence maps the operation, builds the system around the agent, then sets the boundary and hands the result to your team. The same four disciplines run underneath it.

The engagement

Five stages, from real work to handover.

  1. 01 · Map

    Map the real work

    Find the decisions, handoffs, source information and exceptions in the operation as it actually runs.

  2. 02 · Scaffold

    Build the scaffold

    Give the agent an owned system with the right data, tools, permissions and screens.

  3. 03 · Agent

    Equip the agent

    Add tested instructions and the tools that let it read, draft, check, sort and report.

  4. 04 · Boundary

    Define the boundary

    Put deterministic rules and human approval on the decisions the agent must not own.

  5. 05 · Handover

    Hand over the system

    Train the team, document the build and leave the code, infrastructure and accounts in the client's ownership.

An independent checker, before anything is called done

A build is never signed off by the person who built it. A separate pass of pricing, pixel and field checks has to clear it first, because undercharge bugs and drift get caught before customers do.

No invented claims, in the content or the code

Every figure and every capability claim traces to something real and checkable. Where a build is a concept or a working prototype, it's labelled that way.

AI proposes, fixed code commits, on anything that moves money

An LLM can draft a figure or a suggested action. It never has the final say on a price, a payment, or a trade. A fixed, testable rule commits the real number.

Safety gates on anything that actuates

Systems that control real hardware or send a real message ship read-only by default: a connection opens without writing anything. Anywhere an action reaches a customer or spends money, a person approves the exact action on screen. Pep will not send a customer email, and Social Studio will not publish a post, until someone presses it.

See the discipline applied to your own systems.

No commitment and no fixed quote until it is scoped. If we go further, you own what we build.

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Honest answers

Questions worth asking upfront.

What does it cost?

It depends on scope. A brochure site and a bespoke back office are very different builds, so we quote after discovery.

How long does a build take?

Also scope-dependent. We ship in waves so you see and can use real progress early, rather than waiting for one big reveal at the end.

What happens to our data?

It stays yours, on infrastructure you own after handover. Regulated or sensitive data gets scoped isolation and access controls appropriate to what it is.

Do you use our data to train anything?

No. Your data runs your system. It is not used to train models.

What if the AI is wrong?

Anywhere an AI component is used, it's scoped so a checker, a fixed fallback or a person catches a mistake before it reaches a customer or a payment.

Who owns the code?

You do, outright, on handover: your infrastructure and your repository.

What's not a good fit?

Work that needs a big team shipping in parallel from day one, or a business that wants a black box it never has to understand. We work best building something you'll actually own and run.

Why one consultancy instead of an agency?

One accountable line from discovery to handover, no account-manager layer translating between you and whoever's actually building it.

Tell us which job eats your week. In half an hour you will know whether an agent is worth building for it.

No commitment and no fixed quote until it is scoped. If we go further, you own what we build.

Email to book a 30-minute call
MAST
consulting
MAST Consulting · AI Systems & Agents
matt@mastconsult.co.uk