This document collects the questions client Procurement, Legal, and CTO teams raise before signing an engagement with OKAXI. Answers describe the international standard project workflow that OKAXI applies on every engagement.
OKAXI runs a single entry point through the website contact form or the info@okaxi.com address. The request is owned by Business Development within 1 business day. A 60-minute discovery call happens within the first week with the Solution Architect and the Delivery Manager attending. After the call, OKAXI sends the initial scope brief and the mutual NDA for signature before any deep dive.
Discovery runs in three phases. Phase 1 is interviews with the client engineering team to understand pain points and business goals. Phase 2 is a technical audit covering the current stack, traffic profile, database schema, integration map, and security posture. Phase 3 is gap analysis and a directional proposal. The full discovery completes in 2 to 3 weeks for Tier 2 engagements and 4 to 6 weeks for Tier 1 multi-domain engagements.
An initial proposal lands within 3 business days after the discovery call. The detailed proposal with an architecture diagram, milestones, and a budget range follows within 2 to 4 weeks depending on complexity. The final proposal with the SOW (Statement of Work) and the MSA (Master Service Agreement) lands within 4 to 6 weeks after the technical audit completes. Every milestone is committed in writing through email and a shared project tracker.
The document covers six sections. First, an executive summary for non-technical stakeholders. Second, a target architecture diagram covering both logical and deployment views. Third, a tech stack rationale with alternatives compared. Fourth, the data model and the integration contracts. Fifth, the implementation milestones with day-level effort estimates. Sixth, the risk register and the mitigation plan. The document runs 20 to 40 pages depending on complexity.
The discovery call and the initial proposal are free of charge. The detailed technical audit is charged at a day rate or as a fixed fee, whichever is agreed. When the client signs the engagement contract, the audit fee is credited against the main contract. If the client does not move forward, the audit deliverable belongs to the client for internal use or for use with another vendor.
The NDA is signed immediately after the discovery call and before the technical audit. This is a hard requirement before OKAXI touches any client internal data, source code, or business document. The standard OKAXI NDA template is a mutual two-way agreement written to international standards. Clients can propose their own template. OKAXI reviews and responds within 3 business days.
The NDA covers all Confidential Information exchanged between the parties during the relationship. This includes business strategy, financial data, technical architecture, source code, customer data, employee data, supplier lists, and anything marked Confidential or reasonably understood to be confidential. The scope excludes public information, prior-known information with evidence, and information lawfully obtained from a third party.
Yes. Beyond the company-level NDA, every OKAXI engineer assigned to the project signs an individual NDA and a conflict of interest disclosure before touching client data. The roster of in-scope engineers is reviewed and approved by the client. When an engineer rotates off the project, access is revoked within 24 hours and the confidentiality obligation extends 5 years after the departure.
Yes. Every NDA OKAXI signs is mutual and two-way. OKAXI also shares proprietary information such as methodology, internal tooling, and architectural patterns. The NDA protects both directions. Penalty clauses apply symmetrically. This approach matches industry standard and keeps the relationship between the parties balanced.
Yes. The confidentiality obligation runs for 5 years after the contract end date in line with industry standard. For certain categories (trade secrets, source code, customer PII), the obligation is perpetual until the information lawfully enters the public domain. OKAXI policy destroys every credential and data access right at project closeout and provides a certificate of destruction on client request.
OKAXI hands over the full source code through a Git repository owned by the client. There are two common patterns. First, the client provides the Git server (GitHub Enterprise, self-hosted GitLab, or Bitbucket Data Center), and OKAXI commits directly. Second, OKAXI hosts during the development phase and transfers repository ownership to the client after go-live with the full commit history. The second pattern fits clients without existing dev infrastructure.
Custom code written specifically for the engagement is owned 100 percent by the client after the final invoice is paid. This covers business logic, data model, integration code, and UI components. OKAXI retains the right to reuse internal tooling, generic libraries, and methodology developed before or in parallel. Open-source dependencies follow their original licences. All IP ownership is itemised in the MSA and a separate IP Exhibit.
After project closeout, OKAXI keeps a code archive in encrypted storage for 7 years to satisfy legal compliance and warranty support. Access is tightly restricted. Only the team lead and the Director of Engineering can decrypt. After 7 years, the archive is destroyed and a certificate is issued. The client can request earlier archive destruction with an indemnification clause in a contract amendment.
The handover document set covers eight parts. First, the System Architecture Document. Second, the API Reference (OpenAPI and GraphQL SDL). Third, the database schema and migration history. Fourth, the Deployment Guide with runbook. Fifth, the Operation Manual for the dev and ops teams. Sixth, the Security Hardening Checklist. Seventh, the Test Plan and test results. Eighth, the Onboarding Guide for new engineers. Documents live in the client Confluence or Notion workspace.
OKAXI runs a 4 to 8 week knowledge transfer programme depending on scope. Week 1 is an overview session with the full client team. Weeks 2 to 4 are pair programming and code walkthroughs between OKAXI engineers and their counterparts on the client side. Weeks 5 to 6 are shadow operation, with OKAXI observing the client team running the system. Weeks 7 to 8 are the formal handover with a knowledge transfer document. The client can extend the KT phase if needed.
OKAXI commits to four severity tiers. Severity 1 (production down or data loss): 1-hour response, 4-hour resolution target, 24/7. Severity 2 (functional impact, with workaround): 4-hour response, 1-day resolution, business hours. Severity 3 (minor bug): 1-day response, 5-day resolution, business hours. Severity 4 (cosmetic): 3-day response, next-release resolution. Channels include the ticket portal, email, and emergency phone for Severity 1.
The standard warranty runs 90 days after go-live, with bug fixing and performance tuning included within the contracted scope. OKAXI fixes any defect not caused by a client scope change during this window. After 90 days, the client can sign a separate Maintenance Agreement with tier-based SLAs and pricing. Enterprise clients often extend the warranty to 1 year with proactive monitoring and a quarterly health check.
Maintenance offers three tiers. Basic: bug fixing per SLA and periodic security patches. No new feature work. Standard: includes Basic plus performance tuning, capacity planning, and a quarterly health check report. Premium: includes Standard plus a dedicated technical account manager, 24/7 proactive monitoring, monthly architecture reviews, and priority response. Clients can switch tier on 30 days notice.
A Severity 1 incident escalates through four levels. Level 1 is the on-call engineer with a 15-minute response window. Level 2 is the Team Lead if the issue is not resolved within 30 minutes. Level 3 is the Director of Engineering if the issue is not resolved within 2 hours. Level 4 is the CEO or CTO if the impact reaches 50 percent of users. Each level carries a communication template sent to the client. The post-mortem report finalises within 14 days with action items and SLA-breach compensation if applicable.
OKAXI runs a quarterly roadmap review with enterprise clients. Each quarter holds a 2-hour session covering metrics, KPIs, technical debt, and priority features. Major upgrades (framework version, infrastructure migration) are planned at least 3 months in advance. OKAXI commits to LTS support for at least 3 years on every major release deployed to a client. The end-of-life policy is announced 12 months ahead with a documented migration path.
