A modular, fixed-cost engagement model for federal customers, defense primes, and mission program offices. Capability-thread traceability from business intent through delivered outcome — in 2-to-4 week sprint increments, packaged as needed.
Federal capability delivery often loses fidelity between what the business specified and what gets built. Requirements drift across vendors. Architecture decisions get re-litigated mid-implementation. Cost and schedule slide as the trace from intent to outcome breaks down.
Capability Delivery Sprints address this by making capability-thread traceability the delivery discipline — from business intent through deployed outcome — in fixed-cost increments with acceptance criteria defined up front.
A capability map anchors every sprint. Business capability decomposition drives architecture, design, code, tests, and deployment. Reconciliation between the business definition and the delivered outcome happens continuously, not at acceptance.
TOGAF ADM (Phases A through H), UML, BPMN, STRIDE threat modeling, zero-trust patterns, SysML v2 and UAF (all seven viewpoints) — the formalized internal disciplines that make capability-thread traceability enforceable in practice. The same senior-led team carries the disciplines from mission analysis through working code without handoff loss.
RDS uses AI in every aspect of the business: internal operations, customer delivery, and delivered products. Collaborative Machines (31-role multi-agent reasoning platform), Cognitive Mesh (mesh coordination harness), a 1,750-clause FAR/DFARS/HHSAR/VAAR library, and a 7-domain enterprise knowledge base — the substrate that makes fixed-cost delivery economically viable on federal schedules.
This page is a discussion document. Final scope, deliverables, and price for any engagement are defined together with the customer before sprint initiation.
Seven sprint types. Each produces a defined deliverable, traces back to the capability map, and operates against acceptance criteria agreed before sprint initiation. Duration: 2–4 weeks. Multi-sprint engagements packaged as needed.
Lowest-risk first engagement. One decision-grade deliverable that validates the capability-thread approach and de-risks a larger follow-on.
Deliverable: capability map fragment, architecture assessment, solution sketch, or planning brief — plus decision briefing and recommended follow-on package.
Define mission drivers, business outcomes, stakeholders, value streams, capability priorities, and decision-ready recommendations. Establishes the capability map.
Deliverable: capability map (the source of truth for downstream sprints), stakeholder map, value stream summary, priority gap analysis, decision briefing.
Assess current environment, define technical baseline, standards, constraints, dependencies, integration patterns, and architecture runway needed for execution.
Deliverable: current-state assessment, technical baseline, dependency map, constraint register, architecture runway, capability-to-component trace matrix.
Implementation-oriented target solution design for a defined use case, capability increment, or mission thread. MBSE-anchored on the defense-program track.
Deliverable: solution blueprint, interface and integration design, data flow design, security design (STRIDE / zero-trust), deployment design, MBSE artifacts where applicable.
Convert architecture and design outputs into an executable implementation plan. Customer selects the cadence framework.
Deliverable: sequenced backlog or work breakdown structure, implementation roadmap, milestone plan or Integrated Master Schedule, risk register, staffing assumptions.
Establish and execute the project and contract management framework. Recurring or aligned to delivery increments. Embedded, not billed as overhead.
Deliverable: sprint management plan, integrated schedule view, RACI matrix, risk/issue/action/decision log, CDRL compliance tracker, stakeholder communication cadence.
Execute the scoped delivery increment through configuration, integration, testing, hardening, and deployment or release preparation.
Deliverable: working increment, configured environment or capability, test evidence (Playwright E2E, integration, regression), deployment package (IaC artifacts where applicable), operational handoff artifacts.
Five packages assemble the sprint catalog into common procurement shapes. Banded price anchors give a starting point for vehicle selection. Final price is negotiated within the band based on agreed scope.
| Package | Composition | Duration | Price Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability Pilot | Validation Sprint + light-touch Management | 2–3 weeks | $40K–$100K |
| Discovery Package | Business Architecture + Technical Architecture + Management | 6–8 weeks | $100K–$300K |
| Design Package | Solution Architecture + Technical Lead Planning + Management | 6–8 weeks | $175K–$500K |
| Delivery Package | Implementation/Configuration/Deployment (one or more) + Management | 4–12 weeks | $250K–$1.5M |
| End-to-End Capability Delivery | All sprint types across one or more capability increments | 16 weeks–12+ months | $500K–$5M+ |
Capability Pilot is the lowest-risk entry point. Discovery and Design Packages prepare a program for execution. Delivery Package executes a bounded increment. End-to-End Capability Delivery spans the full lifecycle from business architecture through deployed outcome.
Compliance environment, joint-delivery, and cadence framework options can be applied to any sprint or package without changing the catalog or pricing model.
Any sprint can be executed in a compliance-aware variant when contract context requires it. Variants don't change scope or deliverables — they change the execution environment, evidence collection rigor, and chain-of-custody posture.
Any sprint or package can be executed jointly with a Tier-1 prime mentor under DoD MPP or SBA All Small. Sprint structure and deliverables remain unchanged; resource allocation between mentor and protégé is governed by the mentor-protégé agreement.
Joint sprint outputs carry both mentor and protégé attribution and are eligible for mentor-protégé development credit.
The catalog is cadence-framework agnostic. Customer selects the framework that fits their procurement, program rhythm, and team operating model. RDS adapts sprint structure, ceremonies, and deliverable formats accordingly.
Fixed cost. Each sprint and package is priced against defined objectives, deliverables, and acceptance criteria. Banded price anchors are published per package; final price is negotiated within band based on agreed scope. Compliance variants may carry an environment premium. Multi-sprint packages may be bundled with package discounts.
Firm Fixed Price (FAR 16.202) is the primary model. RDS also supports Time and Materials (FAR 16.601), Labor Hour (FAR 16.602), Cost-Plus Fixed Fee (FAR 16.306), Cost-Plus Award Fee (FAR 16.405-2), and Performance-Based Acquisition (FAR 37.6) when customer procurement context requires.
VA Vets First sole source (38 U.S.C. 8127(d), VAAR Subpart 819.70 — up to the $5M services threshold), Simplified Acquisition Procedures (FAR Part 13), VOSB or SDVOSB set-aside competition, GSA Multiple Award Schedule (SIN 54151S, application targeted Q3 2026), prime subcontract under FAR 19.704 with VOSB credit toward the prime's subcontracting plan, and mentor-protégé arrangements.
Customer provides timely access to stakeholders, existing artifacts, and required systems or information. Acceptance criteria are agreed before sprint initiation. Out-of-scope requests are handled through formal change control. Compliance variants and cadence framework are agreed at engagement start.
Initial conversations cover: mission need or business objective; the capability question that needs answering first; the procurement vehicle and contract type that fit; compliance environment requirements (CUI, ITAR, CMMC L2, DCAA); cadence framework preference; and whether mentor-protégé joint delivery applies.
The Capability Pilot ($40K–$100K, 2–3 weeks) is the lowest-friction entry point and produces a decision-grade deliverable that informs whether and how to proceed.