Cto Advisor

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

.codex/skills/a11y-audit

.codex/skills/ab-test-setup

.codex/skills/account-executive

.codex/skills/ad-creative

.codex/skills/aeo

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 6e3fcbdbb5cf · 19 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherborghei GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderborghei/Claude-Skills/c-level-advisor/cto-advisorThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceNOASSERTIONAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict6e3fcbdbb5cfA new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 12 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Technical leadership guidance for engineering teams, architecture decisions, and technology strategy. Use when assessing technical debt, scaling engineering teams, evaluating technologies, or making architecture…

---
name: cto-advisor
description: >
  Technical leadership guidance for engineering teams, architecture decisions,
  and technology strategy. Use when assessing technical debt, scaling engineering
  teams, evaluating technologies, or making architecture decisions.
license: MIT + Commons Clause
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
  author: borghei
  category: c-level
  domain: cto-leadership
  updated: 2025-10-20
  python-tools: tech_debt_analyzer.py, team_scaling_calculator.py
  tech-stack: engineering-management, team-organization
  frameworks: DORA-metrics, architecture-decision-records, engineering-metrics
---
# CTO Advisor

Strategic frameworks and tools for technology leadership, team scaling, and engineering excellence.

## Keywords
CTO, chief technology officer, technical leadership, tech debt, technical debt, engineering team, team scaling, architecture decisions, technology evaluation, engineering metrics, DORA metrics, ADR, architecture decision records, technology strategy, engineering leadership, engineering organization, team structure, hiring plan, technical strategy, vendor evaluation, technology selection

## Quick Start

### For Technical Debt Assessment
```bash
python scripts/tech_debt_analyzer.py
```
Analyzes system architecture and provides prioritized debt reduction plan.

### For Team Scaling Planning
```bash
python scripts/team_scaling_calculator.py
```
Calculates optimal hiring plan and team structure for growth.

### For Architecture Decisions
Review `references/architecture_decision_records.md` for ADR templates and examples.

### For Technology Evaluation
Use framework in `references/technology_evaluation_framework.md` for vendor selection.

### For Engineering Metrics
Implement KPIs from `references/engineering_metrics.md` for team performance tracking.

## Core Responsibilities

### 1. Technology Strategy

#### Vision & Roadmap
- Define 3-5 year technology vision
- Create quarterly roadmaps
- Align with business strategy
- Communicate to stakeholders

#### Innovation Management
- Allocate 20% time for innovation
- Run hackathons quarterly
- Evaluate emerging technologies
- Build proof of concepts

#### Technical Debt Strategy
```bash
# Assess current debt
python scripts/tech_debt_analyzer.py

# Allocate capacity
- Critical debt: 40% capacity
- High debt: 25% capacity  
- Medium debt: 15% capacity
- Low debt: Ongoing maintenance
```

### 2. Team Leadership

#### Scaling Engineering
```bash
# Calculate scaling needs
python scripts/team_scaling_calculator.py

# Key ratios to maintain:
- Manager:Engineer = 1:8
- Senior:Mid:Junior = 3:4:2
- Product:Engineering = 1:10
- QA:Engineering = 1.5:10
```

#### Performance Management
- Set clear OKRs quarterly
- Conduct 1:1s weekly
- Review performance quarterly
- Provide growth opportunities

#### Culture Building
- Define engineering values
- Establish coding standards
- Create learning programs
- Foster collaboration

### 3. Architecture Governance

#### Decision Making
Use ADR template from `references/architecture_decision_records.md`:
1. Document context and problem
2. List all options considered
3. Record decision and rationale
4. Track consequences

#### Technology Standards
- Language choices
- Framework selection
- Database standards
- Security requirements
- API design guidelines

#### System Design Review
- Weekly architecture reviews
- Design documentation standards
- Prototype requirements
- Performance criteria

### 4. Vendor Management

#### Evaluation Process
Follow framework in `references/technology_evaluation_framework.md`:
1. Gather requirements (Week 1)
2. Market research (Week 1-2)
3. Deep evaluation (Week 2-4)
4. Decision and documentation (Week 4)

#### Vendor Relationships
- Quarterly business reviews
- SLA monitoring
- Cost optimization
- Strategic partnerships

### 5. Engineering Excellence

#### Metrics Implementation
From `references/engineering_metrics.md`:

**DORA Metrics** (Deploy to production targets):
- Deployment Frequency: >1/day
- Lead Time: <1 day
- MTTR: <1 hour
- Change Failure Rate: <15%

**Quality Metrics**:
- Test Coverage: >80%
- Code Review: 100%
- Technical Debt: <10%

**Team Health**:
- Sprint Velocity: ±10% variance
- Unplanned Work: <20%
- On-call Incidents: <5/week

## Weekly Cadence

### Monday
- Leadership team sync
- Review metrics dashboard
- Address escalations

### Tuesday
- Architecture review
- Technical interviews
- 1:1s with directs

### Wednesday
- Cross-functional meetings
- Vendor meetings
- Strategy work

### Thursday
- Team all-hands (monthly)
- Sprint reviews (bi-weekly)
- Technical deep dives

### Friday
- Strategic planning
- Innovation time
- Week recap and planning

## Quarterly Planning

### Q1 Focus: Foundation
- Annual planning
- Budget allocation
- Team goal setting
- Technology assessment

### Q2 Focus: Execution
- Major initiatives launch
- Mid-year hiring push
- Performance reviews
- Architecture evolution

### Q3 Focus: Innovation
- Hackathon
- Technology exploration
- Team development
- Process optimization

### Q4 Focus: Planning
- Next year strategy
- Budget planning
- Promotion cycles
- Debt reduction sprint

## Crisis Management

### Incident Response
1. **Immediate** (0-15 min):
   - Assess severity
   - Activate incident team
   - Begin communication

2. **Short-term** (15-60 min):
   - Implement fixes
   - Update stakeholders
   - Monitor systems

3. **Resolution** (1-24 hours):
   - Verify fix
   - Document timeline
   - Customer communication

4. **Post-mortem** (48-72 hours):
   - Root cause analysis
   - Action items
   - Process improvements

### Types of Crises

#### Security Breach
- Isolate affected systems
- Engage security team
- Legal/compliance notification
- Customer communication plan

#### Major Outage
- All-hands response
- Status page updates
- Executive briefings
- Customer outreach

#### Data Loss
- Stop writes immediately
- Assess recovery options
- Begin restoration
- Impact analysis

## Stakeholder Management

### Board/Ex

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills
git -C Claude-Skills checkout 6e3fcbdbb5cf

Works in

1. 2026-10-19
   !CAUTION B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 6e3fcbdbb5cf

Questions about Cto Advisor

• github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills/tree/main/c-level-advisor/cto-a — the audited source at commit 6e3fcbdbb5cf and every finding aboveObserved · 19 Oct 2026

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