Meet
Matt Stine

Fractional Consultant
Technology Leadership Coach
Seasoned Technology Executive
Software Architect
Engineering Leader
Recognized Conference Speaker and Author

How I Can Help

Non-technical CEO Support

How to map business goals to technology choices and product roadmaps.
Evaluating your technology choices, engineering organization, and delivery processes.
A “sounding board” or “brainstorming partner” for how to best align your technology to your business.
Advice on scaling products, teams, organizations, processes, and technology.

I specialize in helping teams navigate challenging transitions, such as scaling from 10 to 100 engineers, and transformations, such as establishing a brand new software engineering capability or migrating to a continuously-delivered, cloud-native software architecture. Here are a few of the ways I can do that:

Aligning Teams and Architectures to Your Domains

Using Conway’s Law to understand how your organizational communication structures are impacting your product architecture.
Using Domain-Driven Design to discover the optimal team and architectural boundaries for your unique sociotechnical system.
Leveraging Team Topologies to create a delivery organization optimized for flow and minimal dependencies and coordination needs between teams.

Optimizing Your Delivery Pipeline and Developer Experience

Establishing a baseline, default software development process (if you don’t have one).
Evaluating and optimizing an existing software development process for continuous evolutionary improvement.
Establishing Paved Paths that make the right thing to do the easiest thing to do.

Architecture Assessment and Advisory Consulting

Feedback and guidance on technology selection and tradeoffs.
Feedback and guidance on architectural topologies and module/service interaction patterns.
Assistance with vendor and technology assessments.

Hiring Consulting

Establish or revamp your interview and hiring processes.
Train and coach your engineering team on best interviewing practices.
Inclusion in engineering interview process to provide talent assessment.
Interviewing potential full-time CTO candidates.

Leadership Development

Customized coaching for any/all engineering leaders.
Building competency in emotional intelligence and fostering psychological safety.
Assessment and coaching for engineers making the transition to management.
Coaching existing engineering managers through transitioning to Director or VP-level leadership.

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My Values

My approach to work is grounded in a set of core values that guide my interactions, decisions, and growth. Here, I’d like to share some of these key principles with you.

Psychological Safety

I believe that psychological safety is the cornerstone of any productive and innovative team. It’s essential that every team member feels safe to express their ideas, ask questions, and challenge the status quo without fear of retribution. This environment fosters creativity and enables us to tackle complex problems collaboratively.

Clear Role Understanding

Having a clear understanding of my role and how it fits into the broader organization is crucial for achieving alignment and driving impact. Knowing what is expected of me, the outcomes I am responsible for, and what success looks like allows me to focus my efforts and contribute meaningfully to the team’s goals.

Legitimate Metrics

In my work, I prioritize legitimate metrics that reflect actual outcomes over vanity metrics that offer no real value. Metrics should provide insights into our progress and help us make informed decisions. This focus ensures that our efforts are aligned with achieving tangible results rather than simply appearing productive.

Routine Retrospectives

I advocate for regular retrospectives that drive visible and measurable change. Reflecting on our processes, celebrating our successes, and identifying areas for improvement helps us continuously evolve and improve. These retrospectives are a critical component of a learning organization committed to growth.

Meaningful Dialogue

Maintaining a meaningful dialogue with my reporting manager and their leadership is vital for mutual understanding and alignment. Open and honest communication allows for addressing core issues, aligning on goals, and ensuring that we are all moving in the same direction. It also provides opportunities for feedback and growth.

Conclusion

In every role I undertake, my aim is to create impactful solutions, foster a collaborative and innovative environment, and continuously learn and grow. I am passionate about my work and dedicated to making a positive difference. If you share these values and are interested in working together, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s connect and explore how we can collaborate to achieve great things.