Buyer brief · 20 September 2026
Fractional technology leadership
Named senior judgement, written down and available when decisions recur.
The board or team needs an accountable product or architecture decision-maker, but does not need to pretend that a part-time leader is an entire delivery department.
01 · The commercial route
What can be commissioned
Prices exclude VAT. Prices and durations shown are published starting terms; the written proposal fixes scope and fees.
02 · Tangible output
What leaves with you
- Named founder-led product or architecture authority, with agreed access to the board, team and evidence.
- A recurring decision cadence and a log of recommendation, alternatives, owner, consequence and evidence that would trigger a rethink.
- Priorities for hiring, architecture, suppliers, release risk, operating cost and AI adoption as those questions arise in the agreed time.
03 · Authority
Who does what
You: Name the accountable sponsor, authority delegated to the fractional leader and the team that will execute decisions; give access to roadmap, costs, incidents and current commitments.
Zero Drift: Daniel leads product and CTO work; Gary leads architecture. The agreed person attends the cadence, tests decisions against evidence and records the result.
04 · Decision gate
What acceptance means
The named business and technology decisions have an owner and written rationale. The board can see what was recommended, what remains open and what evidence would change the direction.
Agree first: The proposal fixes a minimum term, days, availability and response expectations, delegated authority, meeting rhythm and monthly decision record. A build, refactor or independent audit is separately scoped and priced.
Boundary: A retainer supplies leadership capacity, not a hidden full-time engineering team. Separate AI-delivery enablement installs a pipeline through two real work items; it is not bundled into S9 by name alone.
05 · Check it
Evidence and next step
A decision aid, not a contract or an unqualified claim about a system not yet inspected. The proposal and signed agreement govern scope, responsibility and acceptance.