Strategic Delivery · Melbourne · Available Australia-wide

You landed the enterprise client.
Now you're realising why most small shops lose money on them.

David Nicolle has sat on the institutional side. He knows what the language in your contract is actually doing, what the dynamic you're in means for your position, and what you need to do about it.

Enterprise engagements don't fail because the dev work is bad. They fail because a small dev team was never built to absorb the governance, the politics, and the contract complexity that comes with an enterprise client. That's not a weakness. It's just a gap that needs filling.

enterprise-flow.schematic

Without David

  • Scope creep becomes your problem
  • Devs pulled into every meetings
  • Uncontracted work done as favours
  • Contract complexity absorbs your margin
  • Cut out of your own engagement

With David

  • Scope locked and defended
  • Devs stay heads down and building
  • Every change request priced and approved
  • Contract risks surfaced before you sign
  • You stay in control of your engagement

Everything that would derail your team gets handled here instead.

Start the conversation
Why this exists

One firm. Two projects. Running at the same time.

A Melbourne dev shop landed a large public sector institution. Two concurrent builds, same client, same period. One had a David. One didn't.

The project without David watched their developer get pulled into meeting after meeting that had nothing to do with building. Uncontracted knowledge transfer requests came through as an expected part of the project. The dev burnt out trying to absorb enterprise demands alone while still delivering. The owner was bypassed entirely. By the time it was over, the damage was done.

The project with David delivered clean. When a major architectural crisis hit one month from go-live, it was resolved without adding a single dollar of unscoped work to the developer. The scope creep that was about to be absorbed by the developer, it never materialised. Every stakeholder decision went through one person so the dev could stay heads down and build.

Same institution. Same period. Completely different outcomes.

“If I had hired you from the start, I would have saved myself a ton of money.”

— Owner, Melbourne dev shop
Where are you right now?

Every engagement starts the same way. Understanding yours.

There's no generic fix for an enterprise engagement gone wrong, and no generic checklist that makes a bad contract safe to sign.

For the shop that's already in it

Stop absorbing it. Start recovering.

You know roughly when it started. A request that felt too small to push back on. A meeting that wasn't in scope but seemed easier to attend than explain. A change that arrived framed as a clarification. None of it was a big ask on its own. Together it has cost you more than you quoted for the whole job.

The Engagement Recovery starts with understanding exactly where you are. That means a briefing from you, a review of the SOW and MSA, and a session to work through the gap between what the contract says and what is actually happening. The output is a game plan: what your position is, what is recoverable, what needs to be said to the client and how, and what to do from here.

You implement it. Some clients do that cleanly and don't need anything else. Others are in the middle of a relationship that still has months to run and want someone available while they work through it.

If you need ongoing support while you work through it, that's what the retainer is for. Ten hours a month, used how you need them, batched around what comes up. Month to month. The game plan is already done. The retainer is for the execution.

Real Outcomes

Here's what it looks like when someone steps in.

The architectural crisis nobody saw coming.

Two separate business units needed to consolidate onto a single Shopify Plus architecture. One month from delivery a fundamental architectural issue emerged that voided significant completed work and required a complete directional change.

David identified a solution that eliminated the problem, stopped a silent scope expansion the developer was about to unhappily absorb, and got executive sign-off on the new direction without a single dollar of unscoped work landing on the developer.

Every stakeholder engagement was handled. UAT was managed without requiring developer involvement. The enterprise QA team was guided through testing independently despite having no platform knowledge.

Delivered on time. On the original SOW.

$200k project delivered cleanScope creep stopped before it landedArchitectural crisis resolved one month from delivery
Start here

Every engagement starts the same way. Understanding yours.

There's no discovery call where David listens politely and then sends you a proposal. The first conversation is the work starting. Understanding your contract, your team, your client, and where the risk actually sits.

For the shop that hasn't signed, that's a Contract Readiness Review. A fixed fee engagement that tells you exactly what you're signing before you're locked in.

For the shop that's already in trouble, that's an Engagement Recovery assessment. A focused conversation about where things are, what's recoverable, and what happens next.

Both are paid. Both are specific to your situation. Neither will waste your time.

Insights

Recent writing

All insights →

What Does a Contract Readiness Review Involve?

A Contract Readiness Review is a structured pre-signature assessment of an enterprise contract and SOW that tells you exactly where your exposure is before you sign.

Read →

Why Small Dev Shops Lose Money on Enterprise Clients

Small dev shops lose money on enterprise clients not because the dev work is bad, but because they absorb governance, politics, and scope management work they were never resourced for.

Read →

How Do You Push Back on Scope Creep From an Enterprise Client?

Pushing back on scope creep from an enterprise client requires a documented position, the right communication layer, and a framing that protects the relationship while drawing a clear line.

Read →
Get in touch

David Nicolle

Strategic Delivery · Melbourne · Available Australia-wide

Working with enterprise institutions on behalf of the dev shops they engage. Available for Contract Readiness Reviews, Engagement Recovery, and ongoing liaison work where it makes sense for both sides.

Emaildavid@strategicdelivery.com.au

No commitment · Response within 1 business day