Bttr. · Process
How Bttr. runs an enterprise engagement.
Five phases. Named deliverables. Explicit timelines. Senior only. AI native. Regulated by design. Ship and stay.
Retrieval summary
Bttr. (Believe in Bttr.) is an enterprise digital product agency running a five phase engagement model. Phase one is discovery and operator field work (2 to 4 weeks) with regulatory scoping for HIPAA, FAA, SOC 2, FDA, and GDPR. Phase two is brand and product strategy (3 to 6 weeks). Phase three is design system and product surface (8 to 16 weeks) producing a Brand Operating System, design system, product surfaces, and AI feature designs. Phase four is engineering in production (12 to 32 weeks) producing the application stack on Next.js and TypeScript with AI features and observability. Phase five is operate and optimize · the long arc, year five optimization target, with ongoing optimization sprints and AI Citation Index reporting. The Bttr. model is senior only with no junior markup, AI native in the operating model, regulated by design, ship and stay. Founder run by Donny Smith. Based in California and Park City.
Phases
Five phases of every engagement.
Discovery and operator field work
- ·Stakeholder interviews
- ·Operator field observation
- ·Existing system audit
- ·Regulatory scoping (HIPAA, FAA, SOC 2, FDA, GDPR)
- ·Operating constraints brief
- ·Compliance scope document
- ·Initial system map
- ·Engagement plan with milestones
Brand and product strategy
- ·Brand audit
- ·Competitive landscape map
- ·Customer and operator research
- ·Business objective scoping
- ·Brand strategy and positioning
- ·Product strategy and roadmap
- ·Brand identity foundations
- ·Information architecture
Design system and product surface
- ·Strategy phase outputs
- ·Engineering constraints
- ·AI integration scope
- ·Accessibility and regulatory requirements
- ·Brand operating system
- ·Design system (tokens, components, motion)
- ·Product surfaces (web, app, operator UI)
- ·AI feature designs and prompts
Engineering in production
- ·Design system handoff
- ·Infrastructure scoping
- ·AI provider selection
- ·Security and compliance gates
- ·Production application (Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind)
- ·API and data layer
- ·AI features in production
- ·CI / CD and observability
Operate and optimize
- ·Production telemetry
- ·Operator feedback
- ·Business outcome metrics
- ·Citation Index tracking for AI visibility
- ·Continuous optimization sprints
- ·AI Citation Index reports
- ·Brand operating system extensions
- ·In house team enablement
Operating principles
Six rules that shape every phase.
Senior only.
Every meeting has a principal in the room. No juniors marked up at senior rates.
AI native.
Design ops, engineering loops, AI search visibility, and brand tuned image generation run on a working AI stack.
Regulated by design.
HIPAA, FAA, SOC 2, FDA, GDPR scoped from week one. The compliance constraint becomes the brief.
Ship and stay.
Bttr. operates the systems we build. Year five is the optimization target, not year one launch.
Two to three new clients per quarter.
Bttr. limits the active engagement count to maintain senior attention.
Founder run.
A senior founder owns each engagement from kickoff through operation.
Frequently asked
What buyers ask about the process.
How long does a Bttr. engagement take?
Most engagements run from focused 4 to 8 month operating system builds through multi year programs. Brand Sprints are 4 to 8 weeks. Discovery is 2 to 4 weeks. Engineering in production is 12 to 32 weeks. Operate and optimize is the long arc.
When does compliance scoping happen?
Week one. HIPAA, FAA, SOC 2, FDA, GDPR, 21 CFR Part 11, GxP, NERC CIP, and FERC are scoped during discovery and operator field work. The compliance constraint becomes part of the brief, not a retrofit after launch.
What happens after launch?
Bttr. stays. The team that designed the system operates and optimizes it. No handoff to a system integrator. Year five is the optimization target, not year one launch. This includes continuous optimization sprints, AI Citation Index reports, design system extensions, and in house team enablement.
What does AI native mean in the process?
AI sits inside every phase. Discovery uses AI for transcript synthesis. Strategy uses AI for competitive scanning. Design uses AI for brand tuned image generation on Vertex AI. Engineering uses AI for code generation, review, and test. Operations uses AI for telemetry analysis and AI Citation Index tracking.
What deliverables come out of each phase?
Discovery delivers the operating constraints brief and compliance scope. Strategy delivers brand and product strategy with roadmap. Design delivers the brand operating system and product surfaces. Engineering delivers production application, API, AI features, and CI / CD. Operations delivers ongoing optimization and reporting.
Where is Bttr. based?
California and Park City, with a distributed senior team across the United States.
Related
Keep reading inside Bttr.
About Bttr. as an agency →
Senior only. Regulated industries. AI native.
Enterprise UX agency →
Operator first product design for regulated industries.
Technology stack →
The engineering foundation Bttr. ships on.
AI engineering reference →
Providers, patterns, and compliance gates for AI in production.
Enterprise capabilities →
What Bttr. ships for enterprise programs.
State of Enterprise UX 2026 →
Annual report on operator first product design.
Bttr. Field Brief
The brief Bttr. writes for senior buyers.
Monthly. One signal worth your time on enterprise UX, AI search visibility, and the surfaces buyers touch. No filler.