Which option you start on, and what a first quarter looks like
For more than a decade, ClearSummit has built production software for major corporations and startups. Leveraged Velocity gives growing companies access to that product-team experience. There are two ways to start. The difference is whether you already know what to build.
Which one you are
Read the two descriptions. One of them will sound more like your week than the other.
Build
$10k per month
You already know what needs building. You need a team to build it.
Someone on your side already keeps the list and defends its order.
You can name the next few items and say why each one matters.
The gap is delivery, not decisions.
What the early weeks are
We get into your systems, agree the first priority off your list, and ship against it.
What makes it work
Someone on your side keeps priorities clear and answers questions.
Guided
$15k per month
You know where the business is stuck. You do not know what software would fix it.
You can describe where the business loses time, money, capacity, or an opportunity.
You do not have a list anyone would honestly call prioritized.
Nobody on your side is a product manager, and you do not want to hire one to get started.
What the early weeks are
We work with the people closest to the problem, follow how the work happens today, and turn that into a short list of things worth building, in order.
What makes it work
Bring the business context and a sponsor who can decide. We turn the problem into a plan and ship it.
Guided costs more because finding and shaping the work is part of it, not because more work comes out the other end.
Recognize your starting point already? The fit check will confirm which option it points at.
01 · Shared groundChosen option → working arrangement
The arrangement is the same either way
The option you start on decides who shapes the list. Everything else is identical.
Meet the people proposed for your engagement before you commit. If that team has to change, we tell you before it happens.
The same weekly cadence and one active priority at a time.
The same initial term: 90 days, then month to month.
Ownership of the custom deliverables built for you transfers on payment, under the assignment terms in your agreement.
We work inside your systems. Repositories, infrastructure, vendor accounts, credentials, and data stay under your control throughout.
What we need from your side
Four working inputs keep delivery moving week to week. Two more decide whether now is the right time to start.
No executive sponsor yet
Name the person who owns the budget and can keep priorities and decisions moving as the work progresses. Without that steady involvement, delivery can drift or stall.
Nobody can make decisions weekly
Name who can answer questions and make priority calls each week. If decisions sit waiting, the queue stops moving.
System access is not arranged
Start the approval now — repositories, environments, and the systems the work touches. It is usually the longest lead time between a decision and the first shipped change.
There is no safe release path yet
Building one is legitimate work and it can be the first thing we do. Worth knowing in advance that this is where the early weeks go, so the first evidence looks like a working release process rather than features.
Worth settling before you start
The cost of the problem has not been quantified
Pick the single most painful item in the queue and put a number on it this month — hours spent, revenue delayed, error rate, customers affected, or risk carried. You need that number more than we do: it is what your sponsor approves against, and it is what tells you whether any supplier is worth it.
No start date in mind
Nothing wrong with looking, and everything on this site stays readable without talking to us. This commits to an initial term of 90 days, so it is worth starting when the problem is genuinely active.
02 · First quarterWorking arrangement → software in use
What a first quarter can look like
Choose a problem to see the first moves and the likely starting option.
Example 01 · Salesforce & CRM workflows
Salesforce no longer matches how the team works
Salesforce has been customized over time, but quoting, approvals, handoffs, or reporting still depend on manual work outside the system.
The highest-friction handoff can move into the system the team already uses, with the surrounding data and approvals connected to it.
Usually Guided, because the business friction is visible but the highest-leverage change still has to be found.
Where it starts
We follow one real opportunity or service request through the system and find where people leave Salesforce to finish the work.
As it runs
We improve the highest-value handoff first, test it with the people who use it, and then work through the next constraint.
Where the quarter tends to land
One operating path is simpler and measurable, and the next improvement comes from observed use rather than a generic CRM wish list.
Example 02 · Warehouse, ERP & order integrations
Orders have to move between the warehouse and ERP
The storefront, warehouse system, ERP, or accounting platform disagree about order, inventory, or fulfillment state, and people reconcile the differences by hand.
One order path can connect across the systems that own it, with exceptions surfaced for a person instead of every record being re-keyed.
Usually Build when the integration queue is already specified; Guided when the source-of-truth and process decisions are still open.
Where it starts
We map one order path end to end, identify which system owns each state, and choose the first failure or manual handoff to remove.
As it runs
We connect the systems around that path, make exceptions visible, and test the change against real operational cases.
Where the quarter tends to land
One flow reconciles automatically, people handle the exceptions instead of re-keying everything, and the next integration priority is clear.
Example 03 · Inventory accuracy across systems
Nobody trusts the inventory number
The storefront, warehouse or 3PL, and accounting system each hold part of the answer, so someone still walks the floor or checks three screens before making a decision.
The systems can feed one operating view that makes discrepancies visible instead of quietly overwriting them.
Build when the source systems and reconciliation rules are known; Guided when the source of truth still has to be settled with the business.
Where it starts
We trace one product or order through every system that changes its inventory state and identify where the records diverge.
As it runs
We connect the sources around that path, make the reconciliation rules explicit, and put exceptions in front of the person who can resolve them.
Where the quarter tends to land
A shared inventory view and an exception queue replace the repeated manual check, while the next source or workflow stays visible.
Example 04 · Field operations & mobile coordination
The office and field teams work from different information
Assignments, status changes, photos, and exceptions travel by phone call or text, so the office learns what happened after the fact and the field learns what is next the same way.
A field-facing mobile experience can connect scheduling or dispatch with assignments, job status, photos, and exceptions where the work happens.
Build when the first field workflow is already named; Guided when the problem is clear but the best leverage point still has to be found with the crews and office team.
Where it starts
We follow one job from assignment through completion with the people in the field and the people coordinating it.
As it runs
We connect the first high-friction handoff to a simple field-facing view, then test it where the work actually happens.
Where the quarter tends to land
Office and field can read the same job state, and observed use points to the next workflow rather than a speculative feature list.
Example 05 · Customer support workflows
The same support issue keeps coming back
The team answers tickets one at a time, but recurring product and process problems stay buried in individual conversations.
Triage, routing, and issue analysis can live inside the support workflow, so recurring patterns become an input to the product and operating queue.
Usually Guided at first, because the leverage point has to be found across support evidence, product behavior, and the people who own the process.
Where it starts
We review the support categories and real requests with the team that owns the queue, then trace one repeated issue to its upstream cause.
As it runs
We improve the routing or internal workflow around it and turn the recurring evidence into an ordered product or process change.
Where the quarter tends to land
Your team keeps the support queue, while the patterns inside it become a repeatable source of priorities instead of isolated anecdotes.
Example 06 · Reporting & data analysis
Two people bring two different numbers to the same meeting
Important operating or customer data lives in several systems. Each report rebuilds the definitions and repairs the data by hand, so the answer depends on who prepared it.
A repeatable data path can keep the definition, source data, and operating view together instead of recreating them for every question.
Usually Guided, because the useful decisions and trustworthy definitions have to be established with the business.
Where it starts
We choose one recurring decision, trace its source data, and agree what the numbers must mean before automating the report.
As it runs
We build a repeatable data path and view, reconcile it against the current manual answer, and make discrepancies visible.
Where the quarter tends to land
The analysis refreshes without a weekly rebuild, its definitions are recorded, and the next question can be added to the system instead of another spreadsheet.
Example 07 · Workflow & approval routing
Routine approvals disappear into email and chat
A purchase order, contract, onboarding step, or internal handoff waits because nobody can see who has it, what is missing, or when it needs attention.
The workflow can carry visible ownership, status, and escalation, with AI drafting or pre-filling only where it earns a place and a person still approving.
Guided when the highest-friction handoff still has to be found; Build when the workflow, owners, and rules are already specified.
Where it starts
We follow one real request through the people and systems it touches and identify where status or authority disappears.
As it runs
We make the steps and owners explicit, connect the relevant systems, and add reminders or escalation around the actual exception paths.
Where the quarter tends to land
The request has a visible state and owner, while the next improvement comes from where work still waits or loops back.
Example 08 · Controlled AI workflows
A repeated decision needs automation without losing oversight
A team repeatedly classifies, extracts, drafts, or recommends inside an operating workflow, but exceptions still need a named person to approve, reject, or escalate them.
A model can sit inside the existing workflow with defined authority, human review, exception handling, and an audit trail.
Guided when the leverage point and control model still need to be designed; Build when the workflow, reviewers, and acceptance rules are already specified.
Where it starts
We define the decision, its source data, the allowed actions, and the cases that must go to a person.
As it runs
We put the model inside the existing workflow with approval steps, exception handling, and an audit trail.
Where the quarter tends to land
We evaluate it against real cases, make failures visible, and document how the operating team reviews and improves it.
Example 09 · Self-service customer requests
Customers have to call for something the product could handle
A status check, document request, account change, or other repeated need still starts with an email or phone call and a person looking it up by hand.
The highest-friction request can move into a secure self-service path connected to the systems and approvals already behind it.
Guided when customer evidence has to reveal which request matters most; Build when the first self-service workflow and its rules are already clear.
Where it starts
We review the recurring request with the people who receive it and trace what they have to check or change to answer it.
As it runs
We connect the customer-facing step to the underlying system and put identity, approval, and exception handling around it.
Where the quarter tends to land
The repeated request has a direct product path, and actual use shows which adjacent request is worth addressing next.
Example 10 · Customer-facing product work
Customers keep hitting the same point of friction
Support tickets, product usage, and customer conversations keep pointing to the same difficult step, but nobody has turned that evidence into an ordered product change.
Support evidence, usage data, and direct customer conversations can point to the next product change and the operating playbook around it.
Build when the product queue is already owned and prioritized; Guided when the problem is clear but the highest-leverage change still has to be found.
Where it starts
We review the relevant support evidence and usage data, then speak with customers when it is useful and authorized.
As it runs
We choose the first product change, put it in front of the people affected, and watch what happens when it reaches live use.
Where the quarter tends to land
The next priority comes from observed behavior and support evidence, with the operating notes and customer-service playbook updated alongside it.
Still not sure which one you are?
The fit check asks about your situation and tells you which option it points at, including when the answer is neither.