DESIGN PARTNER PROGRAM

Blaze Design Partner Pilot

A 90-day structured engagement with select enterprise partners to validate, refine, and accelerate the Blaze platform roadmap through real-world deployment.

90 Day Program 3 structured phases

3–5 Partner Slots intentionally limited

50+ Developers / Partner minimum team size

Q2 2026 Launch cohort kickoff

Program Objectives

VALIDATE

Platform-Market Fit

Confirm that Blaze's agentic SDLC model solves real pain points in regulated enterprise environments at scale.

REFINE

Product Roadmap

Shape the next 12-month feature roadmap based on direct partner feedback, usage patterns, and integration requirements.

DEMONSTRATE

Measurable ROI

Generate quantified evidence of DORA metric improvement, compliance automation, and developer productivity gains.

Success Criteria — Program Level

Go / No-Go Decision by Day 90

Each partner reaches a clear proceed-to-contract or structured-exit decision at program close. No ambiguity in outcome.

Evidence Package Produced

Every partner engagement produces a quantified case study — baseline metrics, 90-day results, compliance score delta, and developer NPS shift.

Roadmap Influence Documented

A minimum of 5 prioritized feature requests from partner feedback are incorporated into the next release cycle.

Reference Customer Pipeline

At least 2 of 3–5 partners convert to reference customers willing to participate in sales conversations within 120 days of program close.

PARTNER SELECTION

Ideal Partner Profile

Design partners are selected for fit, not just interest. The program is structured to generate signal, not noise — that requires partners with the right organizational context.

▮ Mandatory Criteria

E

Enterprise scale
1,000+ employees; active software delivery organization with a defined SDLC process (however informal).
R

Regulated industry
Financial services, healthcare, insurance, government, or defense. Active compliance obligations (SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, or equivalent).
D

50+ active developers
Minimum developer headcount to generate statistically meaningful DORA and NPS signal within 90 days.
C

Executive sponsor committed
VP Engineering or CTO-level sponsor with authority to allocate developer time and make a contract decision at Day 90.
A

Active AI initiative
Existing investment in AI tooling (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, internal LLM tooling) signals organizational readiness for agentic SDLC.

▭ Strong Signal Factors

✓

Active audit pressure
Upcoming SOC 2 Type II audit, regulatory exam, or board-level compliance review creates urgency to automate evidence collection.
✓

Developer NPS pain
Current developer satisfaction below 30 — friction from manual process, review bottlenecks, or audit overhead is acute and felt by engineers.
✓

Monorepo or multi-service architecture
Cross-cutting compliance enforcement and multi-agent orchestration deliver the most value in complex, multi-service environments.
✓

Python or TypeScript primary stack
Enforcement tooling and agent-generated code are optimized for Python and TypeScript. Other stacks are supported but generate less immediate signal.
✓

Strategic AI partnership interest
Willingness to be a public reference, provide testimonial, or co-present at an industry event post-program is a strong long-term alignment signal.

Disqualifying Factors

No executive sponsor or budget authority to decide at Day 90 — the program requires a real go/no-go at the end.

Organization in active M&A, major reorg, or hiring freeze — partner must be able to sustain developer availability for 90 days.

Compliance obligations are purely theoretical (no active audits, exams, or regulatory oversight) — reduces urgency and signal quality.

PROGRAM TIMELINE

90-Day Engagement Structure

Three sequential phases, each with defined deliverables and a formal checkpoint before the next phase begins.

PHASE 1 · DAY 1–30

Onboarding & Baseline

Establish the deployment, integrate with existing toolchain, and capture baseline metrics before Blaze influences any workflows.

Day 1–7

Kickoff: sponsor alignment + team onboarding session
EKS cluster provisioning + Blaze platform deployment
ADO / GitHub / Jira integration configured

Day 8–14

Baseline DORA metrics captured (last 90 days of history)
Developer NPS survey — pre-Blaze baseline
Compliance posture assessment — current evidence gaps

Day 15–30

First feature delivered via full Blaze SDLC workflow
Team training: agents, skills, enforcement model
Phase 1 checkpoint review with sponsor

PHASE 2 · DAY 31–60

Adoption & Metrics

Expand to full team usage, track adoption velocity, and begin collecting quantified improvement data against the Day 14 baseline.

Day 31–45

All active developers using Blaze for new feature work
Compliance evidence collection fully automated
Weekly sync: adoption blockers + friction points logged

Day 46–60

Mid-program DORA snapshot vs. baseline
Mid-program developer NPS survey
Phase 2 checkpoint + roadmap influence session

Ongoing

Feature requests logged to Blaze roadmap backlog
Integration requests triaged and prioritized
Compliance score tracked weekly

PHASE 3 · DAY 61–90

Evaluation & Decision

Final metrics collection, ROI quantification, and the structured go/no-go decision. Every engagement ends with a clear outcome.

Day 61–75

Final DORA metrics captured and delta calculated
End-of-program developer NPS survey
Compliance score final report generated

Day 76–85

ROI case study drafted and reviewed with partner
Contract terms presented (if proceeding)
Structured exit terms presented (if not proceeding)

Day 86–90

Quarterly business review with executive sponsor
Go / no-go decision recorded and documented
Reference customer agreement signed (if applicable)

SUCCESS METRICS

What We Measure

Four primary metrics form the quantified success framework. Targets are set at program kickoff using the Day 14 baseline. All targets represent minimums — not aspirational numbers.

DORA IMPROVEMENT

Four Key DORA Metrics

+30%

minimum improvement vs. Day 14 baseline across all four metrics

Metric	Baseline	Target
Deployment Frequency	measured Day 14	+30% higher
Lead Time for Changes	measured Day 14	−30% reduction
Change Failure Rate	measured Day 14	−25% reduction
Mean Time to Recovery	measured Day 14	−30% reduction

COMPLIANCE SCORE

Automated Evidence Coverage

≥ 90%

Blaze compliance score by Day 60; ≥ 95% by Day 90

Dimension	Target
Evidence collection automation	100% of new work items
Phase gate adherence	≥ 95% of PRs
Security review coverage	100% of code changes
Audit readiness score	+40 points vs. baseline

DEVELOPER NPS

Developer Experience Score

+20 pts

minimum NPS increase from pre-Blaze baseline to Day 90 survey

Survey Touchpoint	Goal
Day 14 baseline survey	establish reference score
Day 60 mid-program survey	+10 pts minimum
Day 90 final survey	+20 pts minimum
Qualitative feedback	3+ quotable testimonials

COST REDUCTION

Developer Time Reclaimed

−20%

reduction in time spent on compliance, review, and manual process overhead

Cost Category	Target Reduction
PR review cycle time	−40%
Compliance evidence prep	−70% (automated)
Security review overhead	−50%
CI/CD infrastructure cost	−30% (agent-driven)

WHAT PARTNERS RECEIVE

Partner Benefits

Design partners receive benefits unavailable through any other channel. The program is deliberately high-touch — Blaze invests significantly in each partner's success.

◆

Early Platform Access

Access to all features 90+ days before general availability, including roadmap features currently in development. Partners shape what ships in the next release cycle through direct feedback loops.

●

Dedicated Customer Success Engineering

A named Customer Success Engineer is assigned to each partner for the full 90 days — not a shared support queue. Weekly 1:1 syncs, direct Slack channel, and escalation path to the engineering team for blockers.

▸

Roadmap Influence

Formal participation in quarterly roadmap sessions. Partner feature requests are prioritized in the backlog — not added to a generic wishlist. Partners see their input reflected in release notes and can track progress directly.

◆

Design Partner Pricing

Partners who proceed to contract at Day 90 receive a 30% discount on Year 1 list price, locked for 3 years. Pricing is established at Day 90 regardless of future list price changes.

▲

Quantified ROI Case Study

Blaze produces a professional case study documenting baseline metrics, 90-day results, and methodology. Partners retain full rights to use the document internally for board presentations, compliance justifications, and budget approvals.

■

Custom Integration Support

Up to 40 engineering hours allocated per partner for custom integrations (internal CI/CD systems, proprietary compliance frameworks, identity providers). Delivered during Phase 1 and Phase 2 as needed.

Design Partner Agreement Highlights

Feedback commitment
Participate in weekly syncs, mid-program survey, and final QBR. Minimum 1 hour/week of sponsor time.

Data sharing
Share anonymized DORA metrics for aggregate benchmarking. No proprietary code or business data required.

Reference right
If the program succeeds (metrics met), partner agrees to a reference conversation with one qualified prospect per quarter.

ENGAGEMENT MODEL

How We Work Together

The engagement model is designed for enterprise rhythm — structured enough to generate signal, lightweight enough to fit alongside normal development work.

Communication Channels

Dedicated Slack Channel

Shared workspace between partner engineering team and Blaze CSE. Async questions, escalation, and status updates.

Always-on

Weekly Sync

30-minute video call — partner tech lead + Blaze CSE. Blockers, adoption metrics, and next week priorities.

Weekly

Executive Sponsor Briefing

Monthly 45-minute briefing with partner VP/CTO and Blaze leadership on program health, metrics, and roadmap preview.

Monthly

Quarterly Business Review

Full QBR at Day 90 — metrics review, ROI quantification, roadmap influence session, and go/no-go decision.

Once (Day 90)

Shared Artifacts & Deliverables

Artifact	Owner	Cadence
Adoption metrics dashboard	Blaze	Live / continuous
DORA snapshot report	Blaze	Day 14, 60, 90
Compliance score report	Blaze	Weekly
Feature request log	Shared	Ongoing (async)
Developer NPS survey	Shared	Day 14, 60, 90
Weekly sync notes	Shared	Weekly
Integration requirements doc	Partner	Day 1–7 (onboarding)
Day 90 ROI case study	Blaze	Day 85 (draft for review)

What Blaze Commits To

Named CSE for full 90 days
Response to blockers within 4 business hours
Weekly compliance score report, no delays
Feature requests triaged within 2 weeks
Day 90 case study delivered on schedule

What Partners Commit To

Attend weekly sync (tech lead or delegate)
Executive sponsor available for monthly briefings
Developer participation in NPS surveys (≥ 70% response)
Day 90 go/no-go decision — no indefinite deferrals
Honest feedback on friction points and blockers

Escalation Path

L1: Dedicated CSE (Slack, < 4 hours)
L2: Engineering team (P0 blockers, < 1 business day)
L3: Blaze leadership (sponsor-level, monthly briefing)
Emergency: Direct CTO contact for data or security issues
SLA review at every monthly briefing