Delivery Methodology
Category: frameworks Sources: live-service-sop-summaries.md Confidence: high Last Updated: 2026-07-30
Shared Delivery Pattern
Every Trace service follows the same control pattern regardless of scope:
- Qualify — confirm the client's situation and the correct service
- Scope in writing — define deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, client inputs and timing
- Payment gate — cleared payment before work begins
- Consolidated information request — one request for missing information, not drip-fed asks
- Verified sources only — technical decisions use only verified PPE standards and regulatory sources
- TBC, not assumption — unknown or unverified information is marked
TBC, never filled by guess - Written approval for external costs — lab and certification body fees approved in writing before commitment
- Quality checks before delivery — every technical statement verified against approved sources
- Walk-through and close — review output with the client, record decisions and next actions, then close or convert through a separately agreed scope
Service-Specific Routes
Route Finder (5 working days)
Entry qualification confirms: product family/variants, intended claims, target markets, development stage, existing evidence, known changes, deadline, decision-maker.
Delivery: validate brief → research and assess → build route plan → quality-check → walk through and close.
Output: written route plan covering what is known, what remains uncertain, what the route requires, what it may cost, what could delay it and what decision comes next.
Testing and Certification (4 delivery scopes)
One service with four delivery routes selected at quoting:
- Testing Only — coordinate testing, review reports, hand over evidence
- Documentation Only — prepare client-issued technical documents from verified evidence
- Certification Only — manage certification submission from existing evidence and documentation
- Full Testing and Certification — all three combined end-to-end
Key documentation rule: the client remains the issuer of their documents. Trace prepares but does not issue in Trace's name.
Range Review
Entry qualification confirms: product count, range boundaries, variants, markets, trigger, deadline, available evidence, decision-maker.
Delivery: build per-product register → separate product-specific gaps from range-wide problems → validate and price remediation → build report from register → quality-check → walk through and convert accepted fixes into separate scopes.
Output: prioritised range view — what's covered, what's missing, confidence levels, risks, ownership, remediation scope and next decision.
Retainers
Always begins with a Range Review (unless documented exception approved).
Four responsibility levels:
- On Call — occasional specialist direction, client owns delivery
- Technical Oversight — regular review and risk visibility alongside client's technical owner
- Technical Operations — defined recurring technical work, client retains internal owner
- Compliance Partner — Trace operates the agreed compliance function where internal ownership is insufficient
Key rule: retainers are responsibility agreements, not discounted hours or unlimited access. Scope reviewed quarterly minimum.
PPE Compliance Lab (Training)
Programme selected by what participants need to do afterwards, not job titles:
- Foundations — understand the system, language, roles and warning signs
- Product Compliance in Practice — apply the system to products, standards and evidence
- Technical Documentation Workshop — own or review technical documentation
- Compliance Pathway — all three stages with implementation follow-up
Delivery is interactive and product-led: participants investigate products, make decisions, construct evidence, identify errors and explain reasoning. Not a lecture.
Tailoring limits are defined per programme. Beyond limits = additional preparation or separate scope.
Stop Conditions (All Services)
Trace pauses or stops when:
- Product identity is unclear
- Evidence is unsupported or unusable
- Material product change occurs mid-route
- Client asks Trace to guarantee an outcome
- Required authority or approvals are missing
- Unsupported claims are requested
- Unknown information is requested to be treated as confirmed
Close-Out Standard
A service is complete only when: promised output delivered, decisions and next actions recorded, open questions and TBC items visible, files stored correctly, external decisions recorded accurately (not overstated), follow-on work separately scoped, and the job is closed or moved to an agreed next cycle.