Approach
Diagnosis before prescription
Solvern's method is three steps: diagnose the real problem, deliver a written verdict, then size the fix to match. It's built to catch the cases where the expensive project isn't the right answer — and to confirm it when it is.
The mirror
Why we work this way
There's a classic consulting case study. Tenants in an office building complained the elevators were unbearably slow, and the owners were quoted a fortune to upgrade them. Before signing off, a consultant tried something cheaper first: mirrors in the lobby. The complaints stopped.
The problem was never elevator speed. People hate waiting with nothing to do.
Nobody needed faster elevators. They needed something to look at while they waited. The upgrade would have solved a problem that didn't exist, at a price that very much did.
Solvern exists to find the mirror — the right solution to the right problem, not the most expensive plausible one. Sometimes that means a reframe that makes the big project unnecessary. Sometimes it means confirming the big project is exactly what's needed, and the mirror won't cut it. Either way, the investment lands on the problem that's actually there.
The method
Diagnose. Verdict. Right-sized fix.
Diagnose
We start by establishing what's actually happening — not what's assumed, not what a vendor's proposal says, but what the evidence shows. This is where most engagements find the real issue is smaller, bigger, or entirely different from the one on the table.
Verdict
You get a written recommendation, in plain language, that states what the problem is and what should be done about it. It's built to be handed to a board, a client, or a budget owner without translation.
Right-sized fix
The recommended intervention matches the actual problem — no bigger, no smaller. Sometimes that's a small configuration change. Sometimes it's confirmation the original big project should go ahead exactly as planned.
What we don't do
Boundaries that keep the advice straight
- Resell hardware or licences, or take commission from anyone who does.
- Pad scope to extend an engagement past the size of the actual problem.
- Hide findings in jargon — every verdict is written to be understood by the person paying for it.
See how this applies to your problem
Book a conversation and describe what's in front of you. We'll tell you honestly whether it needs a project or a mirror.