Services & Pricing
No bloated frameworks.
Just work that actually helps.
Four engagement models, each designed for a different stage of team maturity. Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute call. No pitch, no pressure.
Who's behind this
Synoptro is led by Dennis Berger, who built DesignOps from scratch at Taco Bell and stood up Comcast's first UX Center of Excellence. Two Fortune 500 design operations practices, built from zero to running. That's the experience behind every engagement. More about Dennis →
How it works
From first call to real change
Every engagement follows the same honest process. No surprises, no scope creep, no mystery.
Discovery Call
30 minutes. You tell me what's happening. I ask direct questions. We figure out if there's a fit.
Scoped Proposal
I put together a specific scope of work built around your situation. Clear deliverables, clear timeline, clear price.
Active Engagement
We work together in focused sprints. Strategy calls, async reviews, hands-on deliverables. You'll always know what's happening and what's next.
Lasting Results
Everything I build is designed to outlast the engagement. Your team should be able to run this without me.
Engagement models
Choose your engagement
Each model is built for a different stage of team maturity and operational need. Not sure which one fits your situation? That's what the free consultation is for.
Best for teams that feel the friction but can't pinpoint where it's coming from.
A focused 4-week audit that uncovers operational friction and delivers a clear, prioritized roadmap. Expect 3–4 hours/week of your team's time for interviews and working sessions.
- ✓ Stakeholder interviews (up to 8)
- ✓ Workflow review
- ✓ Ops audit
- ✓ Prioritized roadmap deliverable
- ✓ 90-min executive readout & Q&A
A written roadmap and a recorded readout session your leadership team can reference.
Best for orgs where design-to-engineering handoffs are bleeding time and eroding trust.
A 6–8 week sprint to streamline design → product → engineering delivery and reduce rework across teams. Weekly working sessions plus async deliverable development.
- ✓ Workflow mapping (end-to-end)
- ✓ Toolchain cleanup
- ✓ Handoff improvements
- ✓ Playbook assets
- ✓ 30-day post-engagement check-in (single call)
A workflow playbook, updated handoff standards, and one follow-up call 30 days after we wrap.
Best for new or scaling design teams that need structure before the chaos sets in.
A 4-week engagement to design the operating model, rituals, and frameworks for a team that's either brand new or growing fast. You get the blueprints; your team runs the build.
- ✓ Ops model
- ✓ Ritual setup
- ✓ Intake workflow
- ✓ Team playbook
- ✓ First-90-days plan
A documented operating model, ritual calendar, intake workflow, team playbook, and 90-day execution plan — ready to implement with your team.
Best for teams that have the foundation but need an experienced ops partner to keep things running and evolving.
Ongoing fractional DesignOps leadership to support clarity, planning, team health, and operational excellence. Scoped to keep things sustainable for both of us.
- ✓ 2 strategy calls/month (60 min each)
- ✓ Async review of up to 4 deliverables/month
- ✓ 1 lead coaching session/month
- ✓ Slack access, next-business-day response
- ✓ Cancel anytime after 3-month minimum
Ongoing clarity and operational momentum. No dependency — the goal is always to strengthen your team's own capability.
All prices in USD. Ops Starter Kits priced separately. See Kits →
Compare engagements
Find the right fit
Not sure which engagement matches your situation? This breakdown helps you compare by team stage, depth, and what you'll walk away with.
| Feature | DesignOps Diagnostic | Workflow Reset | Design Team Launch Kit | DesignOps Retainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams feeling the friction but unclear where it's coming from | Orgs with delivery and handoff chaos | New or rapidly scaling design teams | Teams with foundations that need steady ops leadership |
| Format | 4 weeks, 3–4 hrs/week of team time | 6–8 weeks, weekly sessions + async | 4 weeks, sessions + async model dev | 2 calls/mo, async reviews, Slack access |
| Engagement length | 4 weeks | 6–8 weeks | 4 weeks | Month-to-month (3-month minimum) |
| Primary focus | Diagnose and prioritize | Fix delivery and handoffs | Establish foundations | Sustain operations |
| Stakeholder interviews | ✓ Included | ✓ Included | ✓ Included | ✓ As needed |
| Workflow mapping | High-level assessment | Deep end-to-end redesign | Lightweight setup | Ongoing tuning |
| Tooling review | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ Starter stack | ✓ As needed |
| Rituals & cadence | Assess and recommend | Reset and standardize | Establish from scratch | Maintain and improve |
| Intake & prioritization | Assess current model | Redesign for clarity | Create lightweight model | Support ongoing use |
| Cross-functional alignment | Identify gaps | Implement fixes | Set norms early | Continuous support |
| Templates & playbooks | Roadmap + quick wins | Workflow playbook | Team ops playbook | Evolving toolkit |
| Roadmap / next steps | ✓ Ops roadmap | ✓ Implementation plan | ✓ First-90-days plan | ✓ Quarterly planning |
| Ongoing support | — | 30-day check-in call | — | ✓ Included |
| Primary outcome | Know what to fix first | Faster, cleaner delivery | Skip the chaos stage | Stable, evolving ops leadership |
| Flat price | $9,000 | $18,000 | $8,000 | $6,500 / month |
Common questions
Good questions. Honest answers.
What does a fractional DesignOps partner actually do?
I work alongside your team to improve how design work gets planned, coordinated, and delivered, without the cost or long-term commitment of a full-time hire. Think of it as having a senior DesignOps partner embedded in your org, focused on the operational gaps that are slowing you down.
Which engagement is right for me?
If you're not sure what's broken, start with the Diagnostic. If you know your delivery is the problem, the Workflow Reset. If you're standing up a new team, the Launch Kit. If you need an ongoing partner, the Retainer. And if you genuinely can't tell, that's what the free consultation is for.
How are engagements structured?
Most engagements include a combination of regular strategy calls, async reviews, and hands-on operational support scoped to your team's size, maturity level, and the specific problems we're solving together. No bloated retainers. No one-size-fits-all packages.
What kinds of teams benefit most?
Design teams that are talented but stretched. Teams that are growing fast and starting to feel it. Teams where the work is good but the coordination around it is messy. If any of that sounds familiar, we should probably talk.
What if I'm not sure what I need?
That's what the free consultation is for. Book 30 minutes, tell me what's going on, and I'll help you figure out whether there's a fit, and if so, what that might look like. No pressure, no pitch.
What happens if I need more than what's scoped?
Every engagement has a clear scope defined before we start. If your needs evolve mid-engagement, we talk about it openly and adjust together. Additional work is quoted separately with the same transparency as the original scope. You'll never get a surprise invoice.
How does payment work?
Project engagements are billed in two installments: 50% to kick off, 50% at delivery. The retainer is billed monthly at the start of each cycle. All payments are due within 15 days of invoice.
What about the Ops Starter Kits?
The kits are a separate product: practical, ready-to-use DesignOps playbooks for teams that need a running start on a specific problem without the timeline or cost of a full engagement. They're priced separately and available immediately after purchase.
Ready to stop patching and start fixing?
Whether you need a full operational overhaul or just a trusted thought partner, I'd love to hear what's going on with your team.
I typically respond within one business day.