What does a typical engagement produce?
A control-to-automation map, security policy stored as code in your repositories, pull-request security checks, and an evidence index with export jobs an independent assessor can examine.
Yellow Theme Method
Yellow Theme is your SOC 2 yellow team.
The yellow team builds security in. We install enforceable checks and an evidence trail in the repositories and CI you already run — with Plan, Access, Evidence, and pack acceptance in the client portal after deposit.
Five principles
1. Fixed fee, named deliverables
The SOW lists the artifacts you will receive—such as a control matrix, pipeline checks, and an evidence index—and locks the budget before kickoff. You are paying for agreed outcomes, not a stack of billable hours.
2. Asynchronous by design
Calls and the optional weekly sync stay inside 7:00–10:30 a.m. Central Time. Written replies arrive within 24 business hours and can land outside that call window. The engagement includes at most one 30-minute sync each week and does not include 24/7 on-call coverage or a full-time Slack presence.
3. Evidence close to the work
Policies live in the repository. Security checks run in continuous integration. Policy checks using Open Policy Agent (OPA) or Conftest, pipeline gates, and an evidence index link each control to the relevant file, pipeline run, log, or ticket, so the assessor can follow the trail without hunting through screenshots.
4. Your team can operate it
Yellow Theme adds focused engineering capacity; it does not become a permanent member of your team. Your engineering lead reviews the pull requests and owns the guardrails after handoff.
5. Your data stays yours
Yellow Theme retains no client data on its own systems unless the agreement says otherwise. Client code and credentials are not used to train AI models.
Asset map
Public pieces of the yellow theme method. Each link is live today.
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Engineering notes
Open the notes — practical write-ups from building secure delivery systems. Examples use stand-in values; no client names.
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Interactive labs
Open the labs — guided shells that reproduce a failure, then prove the fix. Simulated environment only.
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Policy-as-code repos
Synthetic reference repositories you can inspect:
- CI workflow — Semgrep, npm audit, and gitleaks.
- Storage policy — a CC6.1 deny, with tests.
- Evidence index — control ID to the workflow and the export.
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12-question readiness check
Run the readiness check — free, about three minutes, direction not a score.
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Project brief
Create a brief — written fit note and fixed-fee SOW before any deposit.
What changes for your team
- Checks. Security checks run on the pull request instead of waiting for a manual release approval.
- Evidence. Each control points to a repository path and pipeline run instead of a folder of screenshots.
- Communication. Written updates and one short weekly sync replace standing meetings.
- Commercial model. The SOW names the deliverables and fixed fee instead of tracking hours.
Zero client-data retention on our side — enforced · Calls 7:00–10:30 a.m. Central Time · written replies within 24 business hours
Reference architecture
One pattern we implement across SOC 2 and infrastructure as code (IaC) engagements. Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) runs build, test, static application security testing (SAST), vulnerability scan, and secret scan before deploy.
App repos │ ▼ CI/CD (build · test · SAST · vuln scan · secret scan) │ ├──► Staging deploy gate │ ▼ IaC (tagged · encrypted · drift-checked) │ ▼ Logging & monitoring (retention · alerts) │ ▼ Evidence export → assessor index
See synthetic samples in the deliverables gallery. Inspect the CI workflow and the storage policy.
FAQ
Do you replace Vanta, Drata, or our GRC tool?
No. We wire engineering controls and evidence into tools you already use — or into git directly — so GRC dashboards reflect reality.
What access do you need?
Scoped repo, CI, and cloud access for environments in scope. Least-privilege roles and async PR reviews — not shared admin consoles.
How is this different from hourly consultants?
Fixed-fee SOW with named deliverables. We win when your audit passes on time — not when the engagement runs long.
Try before you brief
Guardrails outcomes, a free readiness check, the sample pack — or the three-minute project brief.