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Rebuilt a FedEx-facing delivery orchestration platform in 3.5 months with 2…

Brief

Mark Ajzenstadt describes a two-engineer pod that rebuilt a FedEx-facing delivery orchestration platform in 3.5 months (122 merged PRs in 90 days) using a Velocity Framework: build a repo knowledge graph, run a six-step ticket loop, let agents generate ~90% of code, and gate merges with a V.U.E. senior-review requirement; AI compute cost ≈ $200/dev/month.

Why it matters

Rebuilt a FedEx-facing delivery orchestration platform in 3.5 months with 2 engineers, producing 122 merged pull requests in the first 90 days vs. the client's 7–8 month rebuild estimate.

Key details

  • Workflow: created a repository knowledge graph before writing code; ran a six-step ticket loop (define, spec, plan, implement, test, document); agents produced ~90% of code while senior engineers enforced a V.U.E. gate (verify, explain, debug without the agent).
  • Impact and cost: achieved ~50% time reduction due to upfront context, agent handling of mechanical coding, and strict spec-to-PR discipline; AI compute ≈ $200 per developer per month; CTO labeled the pod 'top performing team' and both engineers received discretionary bonuses twice.
Source evidence

ngl these guys are cracked engineers

Mark Ajzenstadt (@mardehaym)

A delivery orchestration platform that supplies FedEx, estimated 7 to 8 months to rebuild their core system.

We delivered in 3.5 months with 2 engineers and 122 merged pull requests in the first 90 days.

I want to walk through how, because "we used AI and it was faster" doesn't help anyone.

Their codebase had real users, real logistics operations, and real consequences if something broke.

This is brownfield, not a weekend prototype demo.

Week one, we didn't write code. We scanned the entire repo and built a knowledge graph: markdown files documenting every module, dependency, data flow, and domain term. Our agents read that graph before touching anything.

Teams skip this constantly. They point an agent at a repo, hand it a ticket, and get code that compiles but misunderstands the architecture. I've seen it across 100+ engagements. When someone says "AI doesn't work on our codebase," they almost always skipped context acquisition.

Every ticket ran a six-step loop: define, spec, plan, implement, test, document. The agent handles about 90% of code generation. A senior engineer reviews every PR, and nothing merges unless they can verify it, explain it, and debug it without the agent. We call that the V.U.E. gate.

The 50% time reduction came from three things: upfront context eliminated false starts, the agent handled mechanical coding so engineers focused on design and review, and tight spec-to-PR discipline kept scope from drifting.

AI compute: about $200 per developer per month.

Their CTO called our pod the "top performing team" inside the company. Both engineers got discretionary bonuses, twice.

That's what our Velocity Framework was built for.

— https://nitter.net/mardehaym/status/2077684321138147363#m