Priorities you can explain
We start with what matters to the product and the people using it. We connect new features, existing problems and constraints. You can see why a task comes first and what we are deferring.
Fractional CTO · Part-time technical leadership
You have a product to grow. Let's work through the technical decisions together.
I'm Davide Sicignani. I work with founders and small teams who have an established product and need consistent technical direction. We set priorities, assess proposals and follow the work with your developers and vendors, through an agreed part-time commitment.
Work directly with me, with agreed responsibilities, scope and availability.
Some of the clients I’ve worked with
Time to decide
You open a technical proposal. It turns into a decision about your product's future.
A vendor suggests changing part of the system. Your team needs priorities. A customer asks for a feature that sounds small, until you find out what it involves.
Every choice lands on your desk. Before approving it, you need to understand the risk, the cost and what will have to wait.
How much of this proposal do we need right now?
What happens if we defer it?
Who will follow the decision through and check the outcome?
I work through these questions with you: understanding the context, comparing the options and helping set a direction your developers can follow.
Who this is for
When part-time technical leadership can help.
You already have a product and people working on it. You need someone to connect the technical decisions while you focus on customers, people and the direction of the business.
Priorities keep changing, and you want to understand what should start, what should wait and why.
You work with a vendor and want a clearer discussion of their proposals.
Your team needs a point of reference for decisions that affect several parts of the product.
You are preparing for the next stage and want to understand the skills and changes it will require.
Working together
A shared direction, from the problem through to the checks.
Technical choices you can follow
We assess proposals, integrations and important changes. You get a recommendation with alternatives, consequences and open questions. We assess AI against the work it needs to do and the checks it requires.
Useful discussions with your developers
I work with the team and vendors involved. We clarify what needs to be delivered, who will do it and how we will accept the result. Scope and development capacity are agreed explicitly.
Knowledge your team can keep using
Important decisions have an accessible record. You can find the reasoning, responsibilities and open questions when a person, vendor or stage of the product changes.
A decision in practice
See how a difficult choice can become easier to work through.
Illustrative example · Not a client case study
- The situation
- The team proposes rebuilding the notification system. You need to decide whether to approve the work before the next release.
- The observed problem in this example
- Some users receive the same notification twice. Support reports and delivery logs point to repeated sends when the system retries a delivery.
- The options
- Fix retry handling in the current system, replace that part gradually or rebuild the entire module.
- The choice in this example
- Address duplicate sends first. The identified problem is limited in scope; a rebuild would also involve parts that are not showing the same fault.
- Who follows the work
- The assigned developer prepares the change. Davide reviews the solution and the results of the checks with the team.
- How we check it
- Repeat the scenario that produced the error and check that a retry does not generate a second notification. Also check that normal deliveries still work.
- When we revisit the choice
- If wider problems emerge or the fault remains, reopen the options before committing more work.
The record stays with the team: anyone reading it can find the reasoning, the person responsible for the next step and the condition for changing the decision.
How it works
Understand the context. Set a direction. Follow it through the work.
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Start with the decision in front of you
Tell me about the product, the people involved and the choice you need to make. We assess what kind of help fits the situation.
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Agree on the scope
We define initial priorities, the information needed, meeting frequency and dedicated capacity. You know who decides, who delivers and how we stay in touch.
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Work together over time
I follow the agreed decisions with the team, review progress and help update priorities as the context changes. We also prepare to transfer technical leadership when you need someone in-house.
The proposal defines the monthly commitment, channels and availability. Substantial development work and specialist interventions are agreed separately. Your team or current vendor can continue delivering the work.
Your technical partner
You work directly with me, Davide.
I'm Davide Sicignani, a Tech Lead and Senior Full Stack Engineer, and the founder of Sprint Studio. I have worked on products in fintech, healthtech, ESG compliance and B2B software.
I combine development work with technical leadership: I can examine the code, discuss it with the people building it and connect the conversation to product goals. The engagement starts with what you are building and the people working on it.
Frequently asked questions
Questions before we start.
What does a Fractional CTO do?
A Fractional CTO provides technical leadership for part of the working week or month. They help set direction, work through important choices and coordinate technical work. Our agreement defines activities, responsibilities and availability around your product's situation.
Can you work with my current team or development agency?
Yes. We start by understanding roles and the way people work together. We can clarify priorities, proposals and acceptance criteria. Any change of vendor should follow a reasoned decision based on your context.
Will you also write code?
I can examine code, review proposals and investigate technical questions within the agreed capacity. If a feature needs building or substantial changes are required, we define a specific engagement and who will deliver it.
Does my product need to have been built with AI?
The service is for software products with technical decisions to follow over time, however they were built. We can also assess whether introducing AI would serve a concrete need.
How much does it cost, and how much time do you provide?
The monthly proposal depends on the product, responsibilities and capacity required. Before starting, we agree on fees, included activities, meetings and availability. We also agree on how to handle requests outside the scope.
How do we assess whether the engagement is useful?
We choose observable objectives, such as resolving an important decision, establishing priorities the team understands or checking a delivery against agreed criteria. We review them together, accounting for the people and factors beyond the engagement that also affect the outcome.
Can you help us hire an internal technical leader?
We can include defining the role, technical discussions with candidates and preparing the handover. We agree on the activities needed and how they fit within the available capacity.
How do we get started?
Send me a short outline through the contact form. We begin with a conversation about your needs and whether the service fits. If there is a suitable engagement, you receive a proposal with scope, availability and terms.
Let’s talk
Which technical decision has been sitting on your desk for too long?
Tell me about the product, who works on it and the choice that is weighing on you. We can start there to work out what kind of support would help.
Let's talk about your next technical decision
A few lines of context are enough to start. We agree on any technical investigation as the next step.