Embed
Spin up. Walk codebase. First PR.
- Codebase walkthrough + architectural audit
- Top-blocker identification
- Repo access, on-call, tooling
- First PR open by day 5
▸ DELIVERABLEFirst PR shipped + blocker triage
§ SOL · 03For engineering managers staring at a stuck backlog
Your backlog is stuck.
We unstick it.
An embedded senior pod that slots in alongside your team to clear the architectural, technical-debt, and capacity blockers your roadmap is hostage to. 72 hours from contract to first PR.
§ 01 — The ChallengeYour runway is burning
Your runway is burning
while your product isn't shipping.
Your team has the vision and the conviction. But the backlog has been bleeding velocity for two quarters — every sprint loses ground to the same architectural debt, the same rewrite that nobody owns, the same six-month feature that's now eight.
- 01Velocity flat or declining for 2+ quarters!
- 02Architectural rewrites that nobody owns!
- 03Senior hires sitting in the pipeline for months!
- 04PRs piling up because reviewers are also building!
18%
is the median velocity gain (q/q) for engagements where Drexus embedded with an existing team. Senior pods compound; junior backfill doesn't.
SOURCE · DREXUS RETAINER ANALYTICS, 2024
What an unblocked roadmap looks like.
✓WEEK 1
First PR shipped.
Senior pod embedded, codebase walked, top blocker named, first PR open by day 5.
✓MONTH 1
Velocity baseline.
Pre-existing throughput measured, pod throughput measured, ratio published in the Friday Receipt.
✓QUARTER
Knowledge transferred.
Architectural decisions documented. Patterns adopted by your team. Pod becomes optional, not load-bearing.
§ 02 — Our Approach
From kickoff to handoff.
Unblock
Clear the backlog ruthlessly.
- Architectural rewrites scoped & shipped
- Technical-debt sprints
- Test coverage on critical paths
- Documentation of decisions
▸ DELIVERABLEUnblocked roadmap + velocity report
Transfer
Hand off. Phase down.
- Patterns documented + adopted
- Pod size decreases
- Internal team owns codebase
- Optional ongoing support
▸ DELIVERABLEKnowledge handover + retention plan
EVERY · FRIDAY · 17:00 CET
Weekly Friday Receipts.
No status meetings. No vague Slack updates. One signed document, every Friday, with everything you need to know.
✓What we shipped this week
✓What's in progress (with %)
✓What's next + decisions needed
✓Honest blockers
✓PR links + metric impact
✓Live demo links
§ 03 — Proven Results
Word from the fast lane.
We had a roadmap that wasn't moving. Drexus slotted in on a Tuesday and shipped to production by Friday. Friday Receipts ended our standup theatre overnight.
They embedded for 90 days, cleared 18 months of debt, and left documentation our junior engineers can actually follow.
+18%
Velocity Gain
72h
Hours to 1st PR
82%
Stays Past Pilot
3.4×
Avg Pod Size
§ 04 — FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Q.01
How do you avoid becoming a long-term dependency?
We document everything as we go and explicitly transfer ownership in week 8 of every quarter. Pod size shrinks over time by design — most clients keep one or two of our engineers for ongoing work and graduate the rest.
Q.02
Can you work in our existing tech stack?
Yes — we're stack-flexible but biased toward TypeScript, Go, Python, Postgres, AWS / GCP, and React. If you're on something exotic, we'll be honest about whether we can move fast or whether you need a more specialized partner.
Q.03
What if the unblock turns out to be cultural, not technical?
We name it in the first week. Sometimes the blocker is process, ownership, or hiring — and we'll say so. We can't fix culture, but we can name the gap clearly.
Q.04
Will your pod follow our existing process?
Yes — we adopt your sprint cadence, code review process, and deploy pipeline. The Friday Receipt is the only addition we insist on.
Q.05
What if we need to scale the pod up or down?
Standard pods are 3–6 engineers; we can flex to 8 for a peak quarter and back down to 2 for steady-state work. 30-day notice on either direction.
BACKLOG · STUCK
72 hours to first PR.
Start with our Risk Ledger to identify the top blockers in your roadmap, or book a call to discuss embedding a pod next Monday.
AVG RESPONSE 2H · BUSINESS HOURS · CET