--- title: "SpiffWorks — Support" description: "Fixed-cost pilot projects and monthly support retainers from the team that maintains SpiffWorkflow. We work alongside your engineers, then hand you a system your team can run." source_url: https://spiff.works/support/ --- Support # Work alongside the maintainers of SpiffWorkflow. - Fixed-cost pilot projects, four to six weeks, quoted before the work starts. - Monthly retainers that merge our engineers with your team. - Work built for you belongs to you, and what we fix in the open source goes back to everyone. Engagements ## Two ways to work with us. Most teams start with a pilot and move to a retainer once it is running. You can start with either. Fixed cost · 4 to 6 weeks ### Pilot Project We embed with your engineers and put one real process into production. You keep the code, the diagrams, and the working knowledge. - Scope and price agreed before we write anything - Your team builds with us, not after us - Ends with a running workflow, not a recommendation deck [How a pilot runs →](#pilot) Fixed monthly cost · Ongoing ### Support Retainer A standing agreement for priority access to the maintainers, plus a reserved block of engineering time each month. - Your questions reach the people who wrote the code - Reserved hours go to whatever you need most that month - Bugs you find get fixed upstream and released [What a retainer covers →](#retainer) ### Not sure which one you need? Book a free consultation. We will look at the process with you and say which shape fits. [Schedule a Free Consultation](https://calendly.com/dan-sartography/spiffworkflow-demo?hide_gdpr_banner=1) Pilot Project ## Six weeks from first diagram to *production.* We pick one process that matters and is small enough to finish. Then we build it with your team, in your environment, on your infrastructure. 01 Week 1 ### Choose the process We scope one process end to end and fix the price. If it is bigger than it looked, we say so before starting. 02 Weeks 1 to 2 ### Model it together Your analysts and ours model the process in BPMN. They learn the notation on their own work, not on an example. 03 Weeks 2 to 5 ### Connect and run We wire the diagram to your services, databases, and identity provider. It runs where your other systems run. 04 Weeks 5 to 6 ### Hand it over We document what we built and walk your engineers through it. The repository stays with your team. ### What you have when we are done - One process running in production - BPMN diagrams in your repository - Service tasks connecting your existing systems - Deployment configuration for your environment - Automated tests for the workflow - A written handoff and recorded walkthroughs Support Retainer ## Reach the maintainers *directly.* A retainer is a fixed monthly fee for a reserved block of engineering time from core contributors to our software stack. ### A named engineer One person on the core team who knows your processes, your integrations, and how you deploy. ### Priority response Your questions skip the queue and go to the engineers who maintain the code. ### Upstream fixes Bugs you hit get fixed in SpiffWorkflow itself and released to everyone, not patched in a private fork. ### Version upgrades We test each upgrade against your processes and plan the move before you run it. ### Architecture review Regular sessions on scaling, modeling patterns, and process design as your usage grows. ### Reserved capacity Hours you do not spend on support go to new work: connectors, features, migrations, whatever ranks highest. Scope ## What we *do.* ### Migration from Java BPMN platforms We have done this before and we know where the semantics differ. ### Embedding the library Running the SpiffWorkflow Python library inside your own application, with your own interface on top. ### Service tasks and connectors Wiring the engine to the systems you already run, from internal APIs to the vendor software you cannot replace. ### Deployment and scale Kubernetes, high-throughput configuration, and the operational work of running the engine in production. ### Process design review Modeling patterns that survive contact with production, and a second opinion on the ones you have already built. ### Training your team BPMN and SpiffWorks taught to your analysts and engineers, on your processes rather than on demo data. No lock-in You know who owns what before the first commit, not after the last one. Changes to the open source : Fixes and features we write into SpiffWorkflow stay under the LGPL and ship to everyone. Nothing we build for you sits in a private fork. Work built for you : Your processes, connectors, integrations, and application code belong to you. They land in your repository from the first commit. Our commercial products : The Visual Design Studio and Analytics remain ours, licensed to you under our standard terms. We measure an engagement by what your team can do without us. Stop paying us and the workflows keep running, because the engine is open source and your code is already in your hands. Questions ## Before you *ask.* ### How much does this cost? We spend a call or two scoping one process and learning about your existing systems, then create a fix-price proposal before we sign the consulting agreement. ### Do you replace our team or work with it? We do not replace anyone. A pilot where your engineers never touch the code is a pilot that dies the day we leave. ### Do we need a SpiffWorks subscription? No. The engine is open source under the LGPL and we support self-hosted deployments. The Visual Design Studio and Analytics need a subscription. ### What happens when the pilot ends? You run it. Some teams take it from there, others move to a retainer so they can reach us when something changes. ### Can you work inside our environment? Yes. We work behind firewalls, in air-gapped environments, and under your security review. Tell us the constraints in the first call. ### What does a retainer cost? It depends on the block of time you reserve. We quote one monthly figure and it holds for the term. Get Started ## Tell us about your project We will tell you whether a pilot is the right shape for it, and what it would take. [Talk to Us](https://calendly.com/dan-sartography/spiffworkflow-demo?hide_gdpr_banner=1)