Services
These services support different states of a system, not an upsell ladder. Each engagement is intentionally scoped to match the problem at hand.
Architecture Risk Review
When you need clarity before committing to a direction.
What this is
A short, senior-level assessment designed to identify where a platform is likely to fail as it scales — technically, operationally, or organizationally — and what to do about it.
This is not an audit or a rewrite proposal. It is decision support: surfacing real risk, clarifying tradeoffs, and separating urgent problems from distracting ones.
When it’s the right engagement
- A system works today, but confidence is eroding
- Major decisions are being delayed or debated
- Incidents recur without clear root causes
- Growth is exposing earlier assumptions
- Leadership alignment around risk is weak
The underlying problem is usually uncertainty, not lack of effort.
What’s included
- Stakeholder interviews across engineering and leadership
- Reconstruction of the current system as it actually exists
- Analysis of scalability, reliability, data, and operational risk
- Identification of likely failure modes as load or complexity increases
- Risk prioritization by impact and time horizon
- Written Architecture Risk Brief + executive readout
The focus is what matters most — not exhaustive documentation.
What this is not
- No implementation or coding
- No vendor/tool selection
- No “future-state fantasy” diagrams
- No long-term commitment
The outcome is clarity, not a backlog.
Fractional Architect Advisory
When execution needs sustained senior judgment.
What this is
Short-term, part-time access to senior architectural judgment during periods of execution, transition, or growth. This is not staff augmentation — the role is to reduce decision risk, preserve architectural integrity, and prevent avoidable complexity.
When it’s the right engagement
- The direction is known, but decisions feel risky
- The team lacks a true architectural owner
- Execution pressure is causing architectural drift
- Leaders are overloaded or second-guessing choices
- You want confidence without hiring full-time
The underlying problem is decision load, not lack of capability.
What’s included
- Ongoing review and pressure-testing of major decisions
- Guidance on tradeoffs and second-order effects
- Support resolving architectural disagreements
- Guardrails against accidental complexity
- Light documentation where it enables alignment
Engagements are typically time-boxed (often 6–12 weeks).
What this is not
- No delivery ownership
- No people management
- No ticket management
- No permanent role
The goal is to stabilize judgment, not embed indefinitely.
Crisis & Inflection Advisory
When pressure is high and clarity is scarce.
What this is
Focused senior support during moments where systems, teams, or leadership are under acute stress. The role is to rapidly assess what matters, avoid compounding mistakes, and enable sound decisions under pressure.
When it’s the right engagement
- Production stability is at risk
- A migration or scaling effort is failing
- Performance or reliability has degraded sharply
- A security or data incident has occurred
- Executive escalation is underway
The underlying problem is situational clarity under stress.
What’s included
- Rapid assessment of the situation and real risks
- Framing options and tradeoffs for leadership
- Guidance on stabilizing without making things worse
- Support aligning teams and reducing panic-driven thrash
High-intensity, short-duration, highly focused.
What this is not
- Not incident command
- Not hands-on firefighting
- Not operational ownership
The value is calm judgment, not heroics.
How to Choose
If you’re unsure which engagement fits, that’s normal. A short conversation is usually enough to determine the right starting point.