Long-lived systems carry with them serious accumulated risk: Security issues, staffing issues caused by obsolete technologies, expensive vendor lock-in, and black-box systems which teams are afraid to change because no-one knows if they'll break.

In a tightly regulated environment, the problems are amplified. Complex assurance procedures combine with the fragility of the software and outdated engineering culture to bring development to a standstill.

• A clear view of the real state of your engineering organisation, showing where risk genuinely sits and what can be acted on immediately.
• A credible path for making changes that compound over time, making delivery safer and progressively faster.
• The ability to make previously stalled or contested decisions with confidence.
• A pragmatic plan for teams to adopt modern engineering practices safely over time.

Initial diagnostic phase (first 30 days):

• Interviews with Heads of Engineering or senior technical leaders
• High-level walkthroughs of critical systems for situational understanding
• Identification of key technical, delivery, and organisational risks

Ongoing advisory retainer

• Two scheduled sessions per month, 60 to 90 minutes each
• CTO or CDO attendance expected
• Focus on risk assessment, decision support, and prioritisation
• Ad-hoc async support for reviewing major decisions and escalating risk between sessions

To start, book a short exploratory conversation.

We will confirm whether the problem, context, and stakes are a good fit on both sides.