AAA Studio Consulting

Large productions.
Complex problems.
Precise solutions.

When a production is under pressure, the margin for vague advice is zero. The Production Lab brings senior production experience directly into your pipeline, your processes, and your org to fix what is actually broken.

4
Engagement types
Day 1
Embedded from the start
0
Generic playbooks
Engagements

Four ways to work with established studios.

Each engagement is scoped to your specific situation. No pre-built framework forced onto your production.

Pipeline Audit

A structured assessment of how work moves through your production from concept to ship. Where velocity is lost, where handoffs break down, and where the actual bottlenecks live — identified and addressed.

End-to-end pipeline review
Bottleneck identification and root cause analysis
Prioritized findings with clear recommendations
Delivered as a working document, not a slide deck

Production Recovery

For productions that have slipped, gone off-scope, or lost team alignment. Rapid assessment without politics, and a recovery plan the team can actually execute against.

Rapid triage of scope, schedule, and team health
Replanning with realistic milestone resets
Stakeholder alignment and communication structure
Ongoing embedded support through stabilization

Process Redesign

When your team has outgrown its current workflows or inherited processes that no longer serve the project. The rebuild happens from the ground up, with your team, not on top of them.

Workflow mapping and friction analysis
Tool and cadence recommendations
Change management and team adoption support
Documentation your team actually uses

Org Structure Consulting

For studios navigating growth, restructuring, or friction from teams that were never designed to work together at scale. A production org built to fit how you actually make games.

Team structure and reporting line review
Role clarity and responsibility mapping
Cross-discipline coordination design
Hiring and growth planning support
Why

Not a consultancy. A production partner.

Most consulting engagements produce reports. The Production Lab produces results. Here is what that looks like compared to the standard approach.

Typical consulting
  • Interviews and surveys over several weeks
  • Generic framework applied to your studio
  • Polished deck delivered at the end
  • Recommendations without implementation
  • Disengages after the report
  • Team left to figure out the rest
The Production Lab
  • Embedded from day one, inside your team
  • Engagement scoped to your specific situation
  • Working documents your team can act on
  • Stays through implementation and adoption
  • Transfers ownership before stepping back
  • Systems that outlast the engagement
How It Works

A structured path from first contact to production clarity.

Every AAA engagement follows a clear sequence so both sides know what to expect and when.

01

Initial consultation

A focused 45-minute call with the right stakeholders to understand the scope, urgency, and goals of the engagement. Confidential and no-commitment.

02

Engagement scoping

The exact shape of the work gets defined upfront: duration, access requirements, team touchpoints, and success criteria. A clear written scope before anything begins.

03

Embedded assessment

Direct engagement from day one. Standups attended, pipelines reviewed, leads consulted. No surveys. A firsthand view of what is actually happening.

04

Active implementation

Findings become action. Working alongside your team through the changes, not just advising from the outside.

05

Handoff and continuity

Every engagement ends with clear ownership, documentation in place, and a team that operates independently. No dependency. No ongoing reliance on outside support.

Production Roles

Need a producer embedded in the work, not just advising on it?

Beyond consulting engagements, The Production Lab is available for contract and interim production roles across feature teams, live operations, and launch. If your studio needs an experienced production leader in the seat, that is exactly what this is.

Feature Team Production

Embedded production support for a specific feature team or discipline. Owning the schedule, dependencies, and day-to-day execution so the team can focus on building.

Live Operations

Production leadership for live service titles managing content cadences, sprint cycles, release coordination, and cross-functional alignment across simultaneous active releases.

Launch and Post-Launch Support

Hands-on production coverage through the critical window of launch preparation, certification, and the first weeks of live operations when execution pressure is highest.

Contract and Interim Roles

Available for contract engagements as a senior producer or production director while you hire, during a gap in coverage, or for a defined production phase that needs dedicated leadership.

About

The person behind the process.

Zach Gonzalez
Zach Gonzalez
Principal Consultant / Coach / Mentor

Zach Gonzalez is a seasoned game producer with 15+ years across AAA console, PC, VR, and mobile. No two teams are the same, and no single methodology fits all of them. The Production Lab exists because production should fit the team, not the other way around. Blending frameworks like alchemy, drawing from Agile, Kanban, Waterfall, and processes that actually work for your team, in order to build systems that ship games.

Serious productions deserve
serious partners.

All engagements are confidential. For studios that need results.

Schedule a consultation

45 minutes with the right people. Fit and scope determined together before any commitment is made.

Send a brief

Prefer to outline the situation first? Expect a response within one business day.

Received. Expect a response within one business day.

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