Practice 04 · Labs & Prototyping
AI demos, dashboard prototypes, real verdicts in two weeks.
Two-week sprints that validate AI workflows, data models, dashboard concepts, or product mechanics with working software and real data. Build/no-build verdict before you commit to the full system.
Plate · V · Glacial Cartography
Sprint.
Reagent · proof in suspension
- § 5.0
- vessel, neutral
- § 5.1
- reagent, liquid, suspended
- § 5.2
- specimens, node, focus, prism
Proof in suspension. The verdict is the deliverable · build, don't build, or build differently.
What is a two-week Discovery Sprint?
A two-week Discovery Sprint is a focused engagement where Morvion validates the riskiest part of a product or AI idea with working software, real data, and an honest verdict. It is not a slide deck. The output is either 'build it, here's how' or 'don't, here's why', both are worth the fee. Discovery Sprints work especially well for AI proof-of-concepts, MVP architecture spikes, investor demo builds, and rapid feasibility studies for innovation teams that need evidence before committing to a year of build.
What this practice delivers.
The work inside this practice. Most engagements pull from two or three of these, never all of them, never none.
Two-week Discovery Sprints
Focused, fixed-scope, fixed-price sprints designed around the riskiest single assumption. End state is working code and a verdict, not a deck.
AI proof-of-concepts
End-to-end AI workflow built against real data, scored against a real eval. Answers: does this approach actually work for our problem?
MVP architecture spikes
Technical feasibility studies for SaaS platforms or marketplaces, data model, integrations, scaling shape, before committing to a full build.
Investor demo builds
Polished, working demos for fundraising, the experience an investor will see, built on real (or realistically simulated) data. Not a Figma walkthrough.
Build / no-build verdicts
Every sprint ends with a written verdict, build, don't build, build differently. Including the reasoning, the risks we identified, and the next decision point.
Working software, not slide decks
Sprint outputs are code, deployed, and demoable. The deck (if any) is two pages, context and verdict. The system is the deliverable.
Five honest steps.
The same loop runs across every practice, what changes is the artifact at each step. See the full process for detail.
- 01
Day 0
Scope call · we lock the single assumption to validate. We say no to anything that doesn't fit in two weeks.
- 02
Week 1
Build the smallest viable instance against real data. Iterate the eval. Identify the failure modes early.
- 03
Mid-sprint
Show working software at end of week 1. Calibrate the verdict with the founder · surface anything surprising.
- 04
Week 2
Harden the proof, document the architecture, write the verdict. Capture the data + eval results.
- 05
Verdict
Final deliverable: working code, written verdict, recommended next phase (or a clear stop).
What you actually get.
Concrete artifacts, not slide decks. Every engagement leaves something the team can hold, edit, and own after we leave.
- Working deployed prototype (real data, real flows)
- Architecture decision record (one-pager)
- Eval results + dataset (where applicable)
- Written verdict: build, don't build, or build differently
- Cost + timeline estimate for full build (if verdict is build)
- Risk register, what we'd watch for in production
- 30-minute verdict review call
A real engagement, or honest R&D.
We name our work for what it is, a live client engagement, an internal R&D probe, or a concept.
Sentinel operations PoC · R&D
Sentinel is an internal R&D proof we ran as a self-funded Discovery Sprint, useful as a reference for the artifact shape and depth of investigation.
View the engagementHonest answers, asked often.
- What is a two-week Discovery Sprint?
- A Discovery Sprint is a fixed-scope, two-week engagement focused on validating the riskiest assumption in a product or AI idea. The deliverable is working software, real data, and a written verdict: build, do not build, or build differently. It costs a fraction of a full build and prevents months of wrong-direction work.
- How is a prototype different from an MVP?
- A prototype validates a specific risk: technical feasibility, user response, or integration. An MVP is the smallest production-ready version that delivers real value to real users. Most engagements run a prototype first (1–2 weeks) and only commit to MVP build (8–12 weeks) once the prototype yields a build verdict.
- What deliverables come out of a sprint?
- Working deployed code, a one-page architecture decision record, eval dataset and results (for AI sprints), a written build/no-build verdict, a cost and timeline estimate for the next phase, and a 30-minute verdict review call. No 40-slide deck. No abstract recommendations.
- How is a Discovery Sprint priced?
- Discovery Sprints are fixed-price engagements scoped per project, depending on integration and data complexity. Pricing is shared transparently on the discovery call before any commitment.
Bring the brief. We'll shape it.
30-minute discovery call. We come back with a written shape: scope, timeline, risk, price. If we're not the right room, we say so on the call.