№ 004EngagementsRev. 26.08

Three ways to work together.

Every engagement starts with a conversation about what is actually breaking. Scope follows from that, not the other way round — which occasionally means recommending you do not need any of the below.

AOngoing · 1–2 days per weekRolling, three-month minimum

Fractional Enterprise Architect

Embedded architectural leadership without the headcount.

Architecture is the function most often deferred, because nothing breaks the week you skip it. It breaks eighteen months later, when a design decision nobody wrote down turns out to be load-bearing.

A fractional arrangement puts a senior architect in the room on a regular cadence: reviewing designs before they are built, holding the line on decisions that matter, and writing down why. Not a reviewer parachuted in at the end, but someone with continuity of context.

Includes
  • Regular design review with the delivery teams
  • Design authority on decisions in scope
  • Architecture decision records, written as decisions are made
  • Vendor and tooling evaluation
  • Direct availability between sessions

Best whenArchitecture keeps getting deferred because nobody owns it.

Not a fit whenYou need delivery capacity. This is design authority, not hands on keyboards.

BDefined scope · 8–12 weeks typicalFixed scope, fixed deliverables

Project-Based Consulting

A specific problem with a specific deliverable.

A landing zone that needs redesigning. An AI pilot that has to become defensible. A security posture that has to survive an audit. Bounded problems where the destination is clear and the route is not.

Scope is agreed before work starts and does not drift. What changes is understanding — the first two weeks routinely surface something that reframes the rest, and the engagement is structured to absorb that rather than pretend it did not happen.

Includes
  • Current-state assessment with findings ranked by consequence
  • Target architecture with the trade-offs made explicit
  • Infrastructure-as-code for the foundational layer
  • Runbooks and operational documentation
  • Architecture decision records for every significant choice
  • Handover to the team who will run it

Best whenThe problem is bounded and the outcome is a thing you can point at.

Not a fit whenThe problem is still being defined. Start with advisory.

CLight-touch · On callMonthly, cancel any time

Advisory Retainer

A second opinion on tap.

Some teams do not need an architect. They need someone to tell them whether the thing they are about to do is sensible, by someone with no stake in the answer.

A retainer covers design reviews, vendor evaluations, and the calls you would rather not make alone. Deliberately low-ceremony: no reporting, no steering committee, no minimum spend to justify.

Includes
  • Design review on request
  • Vendor and platform evaluation
  • Written second opinions where a decision needs a record
  • Escalation path into the other models if scope grows

Best whenThe team is capable and needs a sounding board, not a leader.

Not a fit whenYou need someone accountable for an outcome.

On pricing

Rates depend on scope and duration, and are discussed on the first call rather than published. Boutique does not mean cheap; it means the person who scoped the work is the person who does it.

On capacity

Two engagements available for Q3 2026. Limited availability is a consequence of a single-architect practice, not a sales technique.

On saying no

Some enquiries are better served by a specialist, a platform vendor, or an internal hire. Where that is true, you will be told on the first call rather than after a proposal.

Not sure which fits? That is usually the right place to start.

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