Alfree
JPEN
Team members working in an office at night, with a manager looking on

IT CONSULTING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Stalled projects?
We get them moving.

Management and the front line, the client side and the development side. We are a PM team that stands in between, deciding what needs to be decided and driving forward what needs to move.

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PROBLEMS

Does any of this
sound familiar?

People listening to a presentation in a meeting room●Is your project stalled?

If even one of these sounds like you,
it's time to call Alfree.

  • Requirements won't settle, and development isn't moving forward
  • You and your vendor aren't on the same page
  • You started AI-driven development, but quality and progress are unstable
  • You started building with AI, and it rewrote unexpected parts of the code, causing more regressions
  • You can't keep up with communication with your overseas development partner
  • You have no PM in-house, or not enough
  • You don't know how to go about replacing your systems

POSITION

The management view. The front-line view.
We know both, so we can connect them.

Alfree's own CEO is a business owner who also works on the front line as a PM. We understand what management cares about and what is happening on the development floor, in both sides' own language. When perceptions drift apart, we don't take one side. We connect the two. That is what an Alfree PM does.

People listening to a presentation in a meeting room
Management & business unitsConcerned about ROI, schedule,
and risk
Business language
Alfree
Alfree (PM)Translate, decide,
and move forward
Technical language
Program code displayed on a laptop
Development teamDevelopment vendors, in-house
developers, offshore teams

OUR PRINCIPLES

Keeping projects moving:
our 6 promises

This is how we work on every project. It is not a special method. We simply do the basics, and do them thoroughly, every day.

People discussing a screen design at a whiteboard
  1. 01Start from the purpose.
    AI is just a tool.    Not “we want to do something with AI,” but “we want to make this work more efficient, so we use AI.” We work backward from the goal to choose the means. What matters is what you ask AI and what you have it do.
  2. 02First, take stock of the work.We don't jump straight into talking about systems. We start by making visible how your work flows today and where it gets stuck.
  3. 03Leave nothing unsaid.
    Always put it in writing.    No unspoken understandings. What has been decided and what hasn't, we document it all and share it.
  4. 04Not one long weekly meeting,
    but 15 minutes every day.    Instead of a long weekly meeting, a short 10-to-15-minute check-in every day. With an agenda and minutes every time, we course-correct early, in small steps.
  5. 05The bigger the organization,
    the more groundwork matters.    In projects that cross departments, building relationships and consensus before the meeting makes or breaks the outcome. Because we have experienced the siloed structure of large companies from the inside, we move along the actual flow of decision-making.
  6. 06No stopgap fixes.When a problem occurs, we look back properly, analyze the cause, and propose the resources needed. Not settling for ad hoc responses is the key to keeping a project running to the end.

AI-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT

AI-driven development
has its common stumbling points.

Writing code with AI does make development faster. But if you start running without deciding how to proceed, quality falls apart later. Alfree has worked on rescuing exactly this in real projects.

COMMON PITFALLS

Common stumbling points

  • Starting to let AI write code with no rules or shared understanding
  • AI changes parts of the code you never asked it to touch
  • Each team defines “quality” differently
  • Every fix causes a regression somewhere else
  • Issues surface too late

ALFREE WAY

The Alfree way

  • Before development starts, we define quality and set the review rules
  • We also use AI to draft requirements documents (PRDs) and manage the project, with people reviewing and revising
  • We run automated regression checks continuously, in parallel with and separate from the fixing work
  • When needed, we set up a QA (quality assurance) team
See areas of support

WHAT WE DO

Areas of support

We support you in six areas. Support limited to just the areas you need is also possible.

Sticky notes labeled To Do, Doing, and Done
PM / PMO / PdM

Project management

From planning to progress and issue tracking to stakeholder coordination, we take on the core of running a project. We aim to be PMs who don't just control, but produce visible output. We can also start from shaping the product's direction.

Specific tasks
WBS and schedule planningRunning regular meetingsIssue and risk managementOrganizing decisionsReporting to executives
Example deliverablesProject plan, WBS, issue tracker, meeting minutes, project news (progress updates two to three times a week)
Who it's forYou have no PM in-house, or your PMs are stretched across several projects.
Illustration of a human head and a chip drawn with circuits
AI DRIVEN

AI-driven development & recovery

We design development processes built around AI to stabilize quality and progress. For projects already in trouble, we step in midway as EM or PM to get them back on track.

Specific tasks
Diagnosing how you work todayDesigning the development process and review setupTask breakdown and prioritizationSetting quality standards
Example deliverablesCurrent-state assessment, development rules and quality standards, test plan, QA setup
Who it's forYou started building with AI, but progress is slower than expected or quality is inconsistent.
A video meeting on a laptopAbout 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of domestic development
OFFSHORE

Offshore development

Many offshore projects fail because requirements are never settled and the work is handed straight to an overseas developer. Alfree pulls the requirements together and develops jointly with proven, trusted partners, so you can keep quality up while spending about one-third to one-half of what domestic development costs.

Specific tasks
Vendor selection supportPreparing specificationsProgress managementAcceptance testing
Example deliverablesSpecifications, acceptance test items, progress reports
Who it's forYou want to cut costs but are uneasy about working with overseas teams.
People listening to a presentation in a meeting room
IT CONSULTING

IT consulting

Drawing on our experience handling everything from organizing operations through migration and operational testing in large-scale core system replacements, we support you from assessing the current state through requirements definition, vendor selection, and migration.

Specific tasks
Interviewing and organizing current operationsRequirements definitionRFP preparation and vendor selectionMigration planningOperational testing
Example deliverablesBusiness flow diagrams, requirements document, RFP, migration plan, operational test scenarios
Who it's forYou want to replace an old system but don't know where to start.
Two people discussing while pointing at a laptop screen
AI / DX

AI adoption & DX support

You don't need to build AI from scratch. Alfree's approach is to make smart use of existing AI such as ChatGPT and Claude. We start by gathering the information scattered across your company and putting it in a form AI can read.

We don't try to automate everything at once. We ease the load step by step, starting where it weighs most on your team, such as reading handwritten slips and simple data integration. We care about being an ally who reduces the burden, not someone who pushes a difficult system on you.

Specific tasks
Taking stock of operations and identifying where AI can helpTool selection and rolloutPreparing in-house usage guidance
Example deliverablesAI adoption roadmap, rollout procedures, in-house guide
Who it's forYou want to use AI but don't know where it fits.
A team discussing plans in front of a whiteboard
NEW BUSINESS

New business support

Drawing on our experience launching our own services, such as a fitness app and VR yoga, we work with you from validating the idea through the MVP and growth.

Specific tasks
Clarifying the conceptMVP requirements and developmentDesigning the post-release improvement cycle
Example deliverablesBusiness and service overview, MVP, improvement plan
Who it's forYou want to create a new service but have no builders in-house.

CASES

Case studies

Apps, generative AI, core systems, e-commerce. We have joined projects of every industry and size as PM or PdM.

CASE 01Company in the nursing care industry

iOS App That Automatically Generates Reports with AI

Generative AIiOSAI-driven developmentAbout 1,200 people
Challenge

Reporting was a heavy burden on sales representatives, and the content of reports varied from person to person.

What we did

We took charge of an iOS app that uses generative AI to organize sales reps' voice input and create reports automatically, starting from planning and requirements definition. Development followed an AI-driven approach, and we handled the production release at a scale of about 1,200 people and the operations design. We also led the automation of inquiry handling with an AI chatbot.

RolePM
CASE 02Company in the nursing care industry

Large-Scale Core System Replacement

Core systemMigrationQA structure
Challenge

Replacing a core system used for many years required organizing current operations and creating a migration plan.

What we did

We organized current operations through interviews with each department and drove the creation of operational test scenarios and data migration. In response to quality issues that arose with AI-driven development, we helped rebuild the QA and testing structure.

RolePM (Operations & Migration)
CASE 03PdM
Major real estate developer

Growth of an Area Information App

As PdM, we handled measures to encourage visits to the area and increase users' time spent there, from planning through requirements definition.

AppGrowth
CASE 04PM
Reuse business company

Mobile App for a Buyback Platform

For turning an existing service into a smartphone app, we handled requirements definition and progress management of the offshore vendor.

AppOffshore
CASE 05PM
E-commerce company

Revamping a Large-Scale E-commerce Site

For the revamp into a semi-custom-order e-commerce site, we handled requirements definition and management of the offshore vendor.

ECOffshore

* Company names are withheld due to confidentiality obligations to our clients.

WHY ALFREE

Why clients choose Alfree

People discussing a screen design at a whiteboard
01

A business owner who also knows the front line of large companies

Our CEO experienced the structure and decision-making flow of a large organization from the inside at Suzuki Motor Corporation, and has since run the company for 13 years. That makes our CEO a PM who understands both the criteria behind management decisions and the realities on the ground.

BeneFitness app screen
02

We run our own services

Because we have planned, developed, and operated BeneFitness and Nature VR Yoga ourselves, we understand how it feels to be the client. We never just build it and walk away.

Illustration of a human head and a chip drawn with circuits
03

Fast with AI, then time to think

We use AI thoroughly to finish implementation quickly, then spend the time saved thinking about how to solve our clients' problems.

Hands quickly operating a smartphone
04

We won't lose on response speed

It is one of our guiding principles. The closer a project is to stalling, the more reply speed matters.

HOW WE WORK

From first consultation to joining your project

  1. 01Free consultationStart by telling us about your current situation. It takes about an hour, online.
  2. 02Assessing the situationWe review materials and interview stakeholders to organize the issues and bottlenecks.
  3. 03Proposal & estimateWe propose the scope of support, team structure, timeline, and cost.
  4. 04Joining & executionAs a member of your team, we run the regular meetings, issue tracking, and reporting.
  5. 05Operations & handoverWe design post-release operations and carry through to the handover to your in-house team.

PLANS

Ways we work with you

We quote according to the scope of work. Feel free to contact us first.

SPOTOne-off consultationFor when you want to work out “where do we even start?” together.
MONTHLYOngoing monthly supportWe join your team as PM or PMO and keep things running on an ongoing basis.
PROJECTPer projectWe take on the whole project, from requirements definition through development and release.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

QCan you join a project that is already under way?
A

Yes. Most rescue requests involve joining midway. Please start by telling us where things stand.

QCan we ask you to handle development as well?
A

Yes. Working with Alfree's development team and partners, we can take on everything from PM to development.

QCan you help if we want to grow the team?
A

Yes. As your project grows, we can propose a team structure that includes PMOs and engineers.

QCan small companies consult you too?
A

Of course. Regardless of size, we support you as much as you need.

FREE CONSULTATION

Let's start with
a 30-minute chat.

Even a vague, early-stage idea is more than welcome.

Get a free consultation