← Services
Service · Review & advice

Architecture & code review

A focused, honest assessment of your architecture and codebase — the bottlenecks, the real risks, and a prioritised plan — from someone who has owned production systems through scale and acquisition.

Fixed-scope, 1–2 weeksAvailable for new work
What you get

The real bottlenecks

What's actually limiting scale, velocity, or reliability — separated from what merely looks untidy.

Risk, ranked

The failure modes that matter, ordered by likelihood and blast radius, not by gut feel.

A plan you can act on

Concrete, prioritised next steps — what to fix now, what can wait, and what to leave alone.

Grounded in the code

I read the actual codebase and infrastructure, not just the diagrams.

Selected proof

An honest outside read on your system

Teams get used to their own systems — the workarounds become invisible and the real risks hide behind the ones that just look untidy. This service is a focused, outside assessment: I read your architecture and your actual codebase and tell you, plainly, what's holding you back and what's genuinely dangerous.

What it answers

  • Where are the real bottlenecks limiting scale, velocity, or reliability?
  • What are the failure modes that actually matter, ranked by likelihood and blast radius?
  • What should you fix now, what can wait, and what's fine to leave alone?

How I do it

I read the code and the infrastructure, not just the architecture diagrams — because the design and the implementation usually explain each other. I've owned production systems through real scale and an acquisition, so I can tell the difference between a problem that will bite and one that's only cosmetic.

You get a clear written assessment and a session to walk through it. If you want hands-on help executing the plan afterwards, that's a separate engagement we can shape together.

Let's talk

Tell me what's worrying you about your system — or what decision you're trying to make — and I'll scope a review around it.

Frequently asked

What do I get?+

A clear written assessment — strengths, the real risks and bottlenecks, and a prioritised list of what to do about them — plus a session to walk through it and answer questions.

How long does it take?+

Usually one to two weeks depending on the size of the system. We agree the scope and the questions you most want answered up front.

Will you rewrite our code?+

Not as part of a review — the deliverable is clarity and a plan. If you then want hands-on help executing it, that's a separate engagement we can shape.

Is it just the code, or the architecture too?+

Both. I look at the architecture and the codebase together, because the design and the implementation usually explain each other.

Have a project in mind?

Tell me a little about what you’re working on — I reply quickly.

Request a review
Next serviceInterim & Fractional CTORead ↗