Technology leadershipFractional CTO
Senior judgement,
without the hire.
Senior technical judgement on retainer: architecture decisions, delivery review, and stack and hiring direction, without a full-time executive appointment. Every material decision is written down as a decision record that you keep.
What the retainer covers
Eight responsibilities,
held by one person.
The scope is narrow on purpose. When a retainer tries to cover everything, the written decisions slip first, and they are the part you keep after we leave.
Architecture authority
Data model, service boundaries, integration surfaces, and the build-or-buy calls. One person holds the shape of the system and is accountable for it, including the parts that turn out to be wrong.
Decision records
Every material call is written down: the decision in a sentence, the constraint that forced it, the option we rejected and what would make us revisit it.
Architecture review
A read of what already exists, including the parts nobody wants to open. Fragility, coupling, single points of failure, and the migrations that will get harder every month you defer them.
Delivery review
Sprint output against stated intent. Where estimates break, where review is skipped under pressure, and which recurring bugs trace back to the design.
Stack and vendor direction
What to standardise on, what to retire, and which contract is limiting what you can build. We recommend proven infrastructure, and if you choose otherwise we put our reasoning in writing.
Hiring direction
The sequence of roles, the level required, the interview loop and the technical screen. We sit in final rounds and give a written assessment of each candidate.
Risk register
A maintained list of what could break the business, ordered by what it would cost. It covers security, key-person dependency, data recovery, cost exposure and compliance.
Technology due diligence
Independent technical assessments for boards and investors: codebase quality, architecture risk, team capability and what the roadmap will cost. Written so a non-engineer can act on it.
Same slot, same person, decisions recorded.
Architecture questions answered in writing within one working day.
Long enough to see how your team actually delivers.
We build and run them ourselves, so our advice is tested on our own software.
Who it suits
Four situations
where this works.
If none of these describes you, the retainer is probably premature. A team of three engineers with a clear roadmap does not need an architecture authority on a monthly bill.
Funded teams without a CTO
You have engineers shipping and nobody holding architecture. Decisions get made by whoever is closest to the keyboard, which works until two of them disagree in production.
Founders about to commit capital
A build is priced and about to start. An architecture read before the first commit is the cheapest hour you will spend on the project.
Boards needing an independent read
You are being asked to approve a technical plan you cannot verify. We report directly to the board, and we tell the team being assessed that we do.
Teams inheriting a codebase
An acquisition or an outsourced build has landed on your team and nobody trusts it. We map what is there, what is load-bearing, and what has to be rewritten before it can be extended.
Funded teams pre-CTO
Boards needing technical assurance
Pre-build diligence
What a month looks like
Four weeks,
four artifacts.
The rhythm is fixed so the work can be checked. Every week produces a written artifact, and if one is missing you should ask us why.
Week 1
Standing session and priorities
A fixed weekly slot with the founder or engineering lead. Open decisions listed, ranked by what blocks delivery, and the ones we will settle in writing this month agreed.
- Decision queue
- Blocked items named
Week 2
Architecture and code review
A read of the current branch, the schema and the deployment path. Findings go into the risk register with a cost and a recommended order of work.
- Architecture note
- Risk register update
Week 3
Delivery review and decisions
Sprint output against intent, estimate accuracy and review discipline. Every call made this month is written as a decision record and stored in your repository.
- Decision records
- Delivery read
Week 4
Roadmap and reporting
The next quarter resequenced against what we learned, including what is explicitly deferred. One written report you can forward to a board without translating it first.
- Sequenced roadmap
- Monthly report
What we produce
Four documents
that stay with you.
All of it lives in your repository or your drive from the first day. The reasoning stays with you when the retainer ends.
Deliverables
Decision records
One page per material call. The decision, the constraint, the rejected alternative, and the trigger to revisit.
Architecture notes
Data model, service boundaries, and integration surfaces at a level a new engineer can join on.
Risk register
What could break the business, ordered by cost, with an owner and a recommended sequence.
Sequenced roadmap
What to build in what order, and what is explicitly deferred with the reason attached.
Decisions recorded with the alternatives considered. A roadmap sequenced by value and risk.
Retainer terms
- Shape
- Retainer · fixed hours · decision records
Fixed monthly hours, agreed at the start and reported against each month.
- Cadence
- Standing weekly session
Same slot every week with the founder or engineering lead. Each session ends with its decisions written down.
- Between sessions
- Async, one working day
Architecture questions answered in writing within one working day during IST hours.
- Minimum term
- 3 months
Three months gives us time to see how your team delivers before we advise on it.
- Notice
- 30 days, either side
Every document is already in your repository, so ending the retainer needs no transition project.
- Escalation
- Two documented levels
The retainer holder, then the founder. Response times are written into the agreement.
The rate depends on hours and scope, and we state it in the first reply to a brief. Diligence engagements for boards and investors are quoted as a fixed piece of work.
Where the judgement comes from
We test our advice
on our own products.
Three products are ours: Aurelia is in beta on Android, and Voyazio and AxleOne are in development. When we advise you to standardise on something or to avoid a shortcut, we have faced the same decision on our own products.
Aurelia
Your network, with a memory.
Relationship intelligence · B2B SaaS
Voyazio
The backbone of travel business.
Travel infrastructure · Vertical SaaS
AxleOne
Powering the backbone of Bharat.
Logistics infrastructure · Fintech
What the retainer is not
We do not write the strategy deck
The output is a decision record, an architecture note, and a sequenced roadmap. If what you need is a fundraising narrative, hire someone who does that well.
We do not carry the title without the authority
A fractional CTO who can be overruled by whoever spoke last cannot be held accountable. The architecture decisions need to sit with us for the retainer to be worth paying for.
We do not sell a build off the back of a review
A diligence or architecture engagement can conclude that your current team is fine and needs no vendor. That is a legitimate outcome, and the report will say so.
Questions
What buyers ask
before a retainer.
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is a senior engineer who holds architecture authority for your company on a part-time retainer. At Cognimit that means fixed monthly hours, a standing weekly session and a written decision record for every material call, naming the alternative that was rejected.
When does a company need technology leadership on retainer?
Usually in one of four situations. A funded team has engineers but nobody holding architecture. A founder is about to commit a budget to a build. A board needs an independent technical assessment. Or a team has inherited a codebase it does not trust, after an acquisition or an outsourced build.
How is the retainer structured?
The retainer has fixed monthly hours, agreed at the start and reported against. It includes a standing weekly session, and architecture questions between sessions are answered in writing within one working day. The minimum term is three months, with 30 days' notice on either side. We state the rate in our first reply to your brief.
What does the retainer produce?
The retainer produces decision records, architecture notes, a maintained risk register and a sequenced roadmap that lists what is deferred. Everything is stored in your own repository, so the reasoning stays with you when the retainer ends.
Related pages
Read the rest
before you commit.
Technology leadership is one of three models. If the direction is already settled and the problem is capacity, embedded engineering or project delivery will suit you better.
Compare all three engagement models
Technology leadership against project delivery and embedded engineering, including who leads and what each ends with.
Technology Consulting
Senior technical advice before you commit a budget: architecture, roadmaps, vendors and due diligence.
Add engineers once the direction is set
Embedded engineering puts named engineers inside your team under the same review discipline, on a monthly allocation.
The products we own and operate
Three products we own and run: Aurelia in beta on Android, Voyazio and AxleOne in development.
Statutory and compliance
Legal entity, LLPIN, GSTIN and recognitions, for boards and procurement teams that check before they sign.
Bring us the decision you are stuck on
Describe the system, the decision in front of you and who has to be convinced. We reply with how we would approach it, the hours it needs and the rate. Sometimes the answer is that you do not need a retainer yet.