A Comtau journal · Fractional CTO practice
Decision frameworks and long-form guides for the people who answer for technology: founders, CEOs, boards, investors and the engineering leaders who report to them. Written to help you decide, whether or not you work with Comtau.
Chosen by the editors
GuideTechnology leadership
The title tells you very little. What matters is which decisions the CTO owns and answers for. This guide breaks the role into five accountabilities you can check against your own company.
7 min read
Also on the front page
Decision frameworkStrategy & investment
Decide whether to build or buy software with five questions on differentiation, market fit, total cost of ownership, risk and exit, plus a weighted scorecard.
6 min read
Deep diveArchitecture & technical risk
How to reduce technical debt deliberately: find the debt that charges interest, price it in delivery terms, then repay, contain or accept it and govern it.
8 min read
02 / Strategic topics
Each topic starts from the questions leaders actually ask, and every article ends by connecting the answer to a decision you can make.
What the CTO role owns, and how it differs from the roles around it.
Roadmaps, build-versus-buy and where technology money should go.
Technical debt, system health and what investors examine.
03 / Leadership & strategy
Who should own technology, what they are accountable for, and how the big technology decisions get made and funded.
Decision frameworkStrategy & investment
Build versus buy is really a question about where to spend scarce engineering attention. This framework replaces the usual debate with five questions, a decision matrix and a scorecard you can take into the meeting.
6 min read
ComparisonTechnology leadership
Both titles say 'technology', and in a small company one person often does both. They are still different jobs, with different customers, measures and risks. Here is how to tell them apart and decide which one your company needs.
6 min read
Decision frameworkStrategy & investment
Most technology roadmaps fail in one of two ways: they are feature lists with dates, or strategy documents nobody can execute. This framework builds one that connects business outcomes to engineering work, and stays honest as plans change.
7 min read
04 / Practical guides
Decision frameworks, checklists and step-by-step methods. Each one names what you leave with.
You leave withFive questions, a decision matrix, a weighted scorecard and a cost checklist for both paths.
Strategy & investment
You leave withA seven-step method, a one-page roadmap structure and a monthly review routine.
Strategy & investment
You leave withA ten-area preparation checklist, a data-room index and a list of red flags to fix first.
Architecture & technical risk
You leave withA five-part accountability map and a checklist to see which parts of the CTO role your company has covered.
Technology leadership
05 / Architecture & engineering
Technical debt, system health and the evidence a buyer or investor will ask for, written for CTOs, engineering leaders and the executives they report to.
Deep diveArchitecture & technical risk
Technical debt is not a moral failing and it is never zero. The goal is to stop paying interest on the debt that slows the business down, while delivery continues. This deep dive sets out how to find that debt, price it and pay it down in a way leadership can support.
8 min read
GuideArchitecture & technical risk
Technical due diligence rewards companies that know their own system. This guide explains what investors and acquirers examine, gives you a ten-area checklist and a data-room index, and shows which red flags to fix before anyone asks.
7 min read
06 / Reading paths
Short sequences chosen by the editors. Each article builds on the one before it.
What the senior technology role is accountable for, which role you actually need, and how to turn that ownership into a roadmap.
Understand the role
What does a CTO do? The five accountabilities behind the titleGuide · 7 min
Name the right role
CTO vs CIO: two technology executives, two different jobsComparison · 6 min
Set direction
How to build a technology roadmap your team and board will believeDecision framework · 7 min
Decide what to build, keep what you built healthy, and be ready to show an investor the evidence.
Decide
Build vs buy software: a decision framework for founders and CTOsDecision framework · 6 min
Maintain
How to reduce technical debt without stopping deliveryDeep dive · 8 min
Prove
Technical due diligence checklist: how to prepare before investors lookGuide · 7 min
07 / Latest
Decide whether to build or buy software with five questions on differentiation, market fit, total cost of ownership, risk and exit, plus a weighted scorecard.
CTO vs CIO explained: who owns product technology and who owns business systems, where the roles overlap, typical reporting lines, and which one you need.
A practical method for building a technology roadmap: start from business outcomes, assess the current system, sequence work in horizons and review monthly.
How to reduce technical debt deliberately: find the debt that charges interest, price it in delivery terms, then repay, contain or accept it and govern it.
A technical due diligence checklist for founders: what reviewers examine, the documents to prepare, red flags to fix early and how to run the review calmly.
What a CTO is accountable for: technology strategy, architecture, the engineering team, delivery and technical risk, and how the role changes with growth.
08 / Explore
What the CTO role owns, and how it differs from the roles around it.
Roadmaps, build-versus-buy and where technology money should go.
Technical debt, system health and what investors examine.
Published by Comtau
Comtau is a technology leadership practice. These are the services the journal's subjects connect to.
