For organisations with a gap in technical leadership, and for technical leaders who need support.
Sometimes there’s nobody senior on the technical side. Sometimes there is, but they’re dealing with a change or a decision that’s too big to carry alone. Either way, you need someone who’s been there to help work out what to do next, and then to see it through.
When this helps
- There’s no technical leader, or someone has left
- Your technical lead or CTO is stretched, new to the role, or carrying too much alone
- You’re facing a big change: a new platform, a team restructure, or a legacy system that’s holding you back
- There’s a decision with more than one reasonable option, and getting it wrong would be expensive
What it covers
- Technical direction: a roadmap that connects technical work to what the organisation is actually trying to do
- Big decisions: platforms, build or buy, when to rebuild and when to leave well alone
- Leading change: including modernising legacy systems without disrupting the people who rely on them – for example moving a Yii 1.1 applications to Yii3 (Substack blog)
- Support for technical leaders: a sounding board for decisions, priorities and the team
- Joining things up: making technical work understandable to the rest of the business, so decisions get made with the full picture
How it works
1. A conversation. We talk through the situation, and I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right fit.
2. An initial six weeks, from £3,950. We agree what to focus on, and I work with you, usually for less than a day a week with smaller teams. At the end, we review together what’s changed and whether to continue.
3. Ongoing support. An agreed number of days a month, with ad hoc contact any time in between. I work with no more than three organisations at a time, so the time is there when you need it.
Experience
The Changing Education Group · Product and technology lead, 2011–2023
Grew a simple tool for managing schools into a web and mobile platform used by a dozen colleges, hundreds of schools and tens of thousands of students. I worked with the directors on strategy and the roadmap, then led development, infrastructure, security and support, including moving it to AWS with 99.99%+ uptime.
North East Museums · Digital strategy and technical lead, 2019–present
Work with the Digital Producer on digital strategy, and lead a side-by-side modernisation of the system behind 14 websites and their admin tools, keeping everything running throughout.
“Harry has helped me think through key questions, bringing technical expertise into wider discussions about content strategy, SEO and user journeys. Our regular discussions have given me greater confidence to make strategic decisions about the website, rather than just responding to immediate publishing needs.
“Our whole website system has now been modernised, and we’ve noticed very little, which is probably the best possible outcome! The migration has happened extremely smoothly, with no disruption to our day-to-day work or the experience of our audiences. Harry has always been really open about priorities, progress and the reasoning behind decisions, and it never feels like something happening ‘behind the scenes’.
“What I value most is that it feels like a genuine partnership, with Harry helping us work out what we should be doing, not just building what we ask for.”Susie Batley, Digital Producer, North East Museums
PagePlay · Founder and director
I’ve led PagePlay, a CMS that has powered more than 500 sites, for nearly two decades: from a product inside my first company to a business of its own.
Tariff Street · Co-founder and technical director, 2011–2016
Led software development and delivery at the Manchester agency I co-founded, for clients including Jaguar Land Rover, Manchester City and Telegraph Media Group.
Common questions
Is this a fractional CTO?
If you don’t have a technical leader, it’s that in effect. If you do, I work alongside them, not over them.
How much time does it take?
For smaller teams, usually less than a day a week, plus ad hoc contact when something comes up. We agree the pattern at the start and adjust it as we go.
What happens after the first six weeks?
We review together. You can continue with an agreed number of days a month, change the focus, or stop there.
Do you work in person or remotely?
Both. I’m based in Manchester and work in person across Manchester and the North West, and remotely with organisations elsewhere in the UK.
Talk about your situation
Send me a few lines about where you are and what you’re facing. I usually reply within a working day.