Hands-on CTO · Engagements

AdvisoryTackle what holds delivery back.

I lead teams and stay involved in code, platforms and production. I step in when a problem calls for looking at those dimensions together, rather than applying another ready-made playbook.

Hands-on CTO · Engagements

Where I get involved

Not every problem calls for another technology. The work starts by understanding what is actually in the way.

  1. The teams are busy. Delivery keeps slipping.

    Changes take too long to travel from code to production, despite everyone's efforts.

    What I examine
    Ownership, coordination, CI feedback, dependencies and the actual path to production.
    What we decide
    What to simplify, automate or stop doing without weakening quality.
    What should change
    Priorities that can be checked and changes the team can sustain.

    Local-first CI field report — article in French

  2. Operations crowd out engineering.

    Incidents, alerts and recurring interventions keep teams busy without improving visibility.

    What I examine
    Useful signals, platform debt, dependencies and day-to-day operations.
    What we decide
    Where to restore visibility and what not to instrument needlessly.
    What should change
    More legible operations, with conventions teams can share.

    OpenTelemetry field report 2/4 — article in French

  3. The usual approach no longer fits.

    Existing tools or practices have become constraints, but a different approach feels risky.

    What I examine
    Real alternatives, switching costs, security, maintainability and reversibility.
    What we decide
    Keep, adapt or test a different approach, with explicit criteria.
    What should change
    A documented choice, a bounded trial and clear go/no-go conditions.

  4. Ownership and dependencies have become unclear.

    Teams no longer share a clear picture of the system or how they should work together.

    What I examine
    Team boundaries, component contracts, decision points and knowledge transfer.
    What we decide
    What to clarify first so teams can take back control.
    What should change
    Clear ownership and a plan that the people involved understand.

    Talks and workshops

Understand, test, follow through.

The method is not the product. It needs to fit the situation and hold up in practice.

  1. Find the real constraint

    Listen to teams, examine the systems and separate symptoms from causes.

  2. Choose and test

    Compare workable options. Challenge the playbook when needed, without losing the safeguards.

  3. Deliver and transfer

    Implement with the teams, check what changes and leave practices they can own.

Have a specific problem to work through?

A short account of the context, constraints and what needs to change is enough to start.

For client engagements, I work through Omnivya, which I co-founded with Taous. Taous leads the company; I serve as CTO.

Get in touchContact Omnivya