Peer-level sparring for complex technical decisions
De-risk critical architecture decisions with on-demand senior advice. Get peer-level technical depth for complex systems, AI adoption strategies, and architectural reviews, without hiring a full-time architect.
You're facing a complex architectural decision and need someone to pressure-test your thinking. You need peer-level depth, not generic advice. Someone who's built authorisation systems, designed domain models, and navigated the trade-offs between pragmatism and perfection.
Architecture advisory provides on-demand access to senior technical expertise. Whether you're evaluating a major platform migration, designing a new system, or assessing AI adoption opportunities, you get experienced architectural guidance when you need it.
This isn't consulting theatre. It's hands-on review of your code, architecture diagrams, and technical strategy, with concrete recommendations based on real-world experience, not theoretical ideals.
Comprehensive review of your system architecture, code structure, and technical decisions. I identify risks, technical debt hotspots, and opportunities for improvement, with specific, actionable recommendations prioritised by impact.
Practical guidance on where AI can accelerate your delivery and where it introduces risk. I demonstrate proven AI-augmented patterns (documentation automation, risk assessment, code analysis) and help you adopt AI practices that fit your team's capability and context.
Roadmap legacy system migrations without business disruption. I assess your current architecture, identify migration risks, and design a phased approach that allows you to deliver value incrementally while modernising your platform.
On-demand sparring for critical technical decisions. Whether you're evaluating frameworks, designing data models, or choosing between build vs. buy, you get peer-level depth to pressure-test your thinking and validate your approach.
Independent assessment of vendor claims and technology choices. I cut through marketing narratives to evaluate whether a platform, framework, or service actually solves your problem, and what trade-offs you're accepting.
I've built complex systems and made architectural decisions that lived with teams for years. I know the difference between architecture that enables change and architecture that becomes a cage. I've designed authorisation services handling complex policy requirements, built microservices that actually made sense, and migrated legacy platforms without business disruption.
My architectural approach is pragmatic. I'll advocate for boring, proven patterns over novel approaches when that's what your system needs. I'll identify where AI can genuinely accelerate your delivery, and where it introduces unnecessary risk or complexity.
Advisory sessions are collaborative, not prescriptive. I ask hard questions about your constraints, challenge assumptions, and help you see the second-order effects of technical decisions. You get architectural guidance that fits your context: team capability, timeline, budget, and business objectives.
Whether you need a one-off architectural review, ongoing technical sparring, or guidance on a specific challenge, you get senior expertise without the overhead of a full engagement.
Architecture advisory is right for you when:
Architecture advisory provides on-demand access to senior architectural expertise for critical technical decisions. You need it when planning major system changes (microservices migration, platform modernisation, legacy system replacement), evaluating technology choices, or when your team needs peer-level validation of architectural approaches. This service is ideal for CTOs and engineering leads who want senior sparring without committing to a full-time architect hire.
Architecture advisory is peer-level guidance, not just implementation. You get strategic architectural advice, pattern recommendations, risk assessment, and validation of your team's technical decisions from someone with over a decade of CTO and architect experience. Unlike contractors who focus on delivery, I provide the senior oversight and architectural depth that prevents costly mistakes. Unlike traditional consultants, I bring hands-on experience building complex systems (authorisation platforms, microservices architectures, legacy migrations).
Yes. I provide practical, evidence-based guidance on AI adoption in development workflows. My approach is grounded in real production experience (3-month projects compressed to 1 week, risk engines built in 3 days) and research-backed understanding of AI limitations (including METR studies showing 19% slower performance on complex tasks). I help you identify where AI genuinely accelerates work and where human oversight is critical, ensuring quality isn't sacrificed for speed.
Common challenges include microservices vs monolith decisions, legacy system modernisation strategies, authorisation and security architecture, API design and integration patterns, and scaling strategies for growing platforms. I bring deep experience with complex domain modelling, event-driven architectures, and migration patterns. Recent projects include building authorisation services from scratch, guiding platform transitions without business disruption, and designing AI/MCP integrations.
Engagements can be project-based (specific architectural challenge) or ongoing retainer (monthly or quarterly advisory sessions). Project-based work typically involves architecture review, pattern recommendations, and risk assessment over 5-10 days. Retainer arrangements provide regular access for sparring on decisions, code/design reviews, and team mentoring. Both models are flexible and designed to complement your team's existing capabilities without creating dependencies.
I work on a day rate of £800-1,000 per day for architecture advisory services, structured as either scoped project engagements or ongoing monthly retainers. Contact me to discuss your specific architectural challenges and receive a tailored proposal.
Working with Michael was an absolute pleasure. He was the border between the developers and the business and always managed to handle both sides' expectations and took the stress of the business on to himself to give the developers enough room to do amazing work. A great developer as well. Always a laugh, great personality, light hearted and I would definitely work with him again at a moment's notice.
Michael doesn't just tackle challenges; he approaches them with a no-nonsense attitude, cutting through complexities with a level of precision that's truly impressive. His ability to break down intricate problems and come up with elegant solutions is not only commendable but also a testament to his exceptional problem-solving skills.
Let's discuss how we can help your business.