Stephen Vickers — NotesPractical notes on technical leadership, delivery risk, roadmaps, AI adoption, and running technology inside growing businesses.https://stephenvickers.dev/en-gbWhen to hire a fractional CTOhttps://stephenvickers.dev/notes/when-to-hire-a-fractional-cto/https://stephenvickers.dev/notes/when-to-hire-a-fractional-cto/A fractional CTO is useful when technical decisions now carry commercial weight, but the business is not ready for a permanent CTO.Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTStrategyLeadershipRoadmapsWhy technical projects go wrong earlyhttps://stephenvickers.dev/notes/why-technical-projects-go-wrong/https://stephenvickers.dev/notes/why-technical-projects-go-wrong/Most technical projects fail before the build starts: unclear ownership, weak scope, hidden assumptions, and decisions nobody wants to make.Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTExecutionDeliveryLeadershipWhat founders should know before investing in AIhttps://stephenvickers.dev/notes/what-founders-should-know-before-investing-in-ai/https://stephenvickers.dev/notes/what-founders-should-know-before-investing-in-ai/AI can be useful, but only when it is tied to a real workflow, owned by the team, and measured against a business outcome.Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTStrategyAIAdoptionLeadershipThe difference between a useful roadmap and a fantasy roadmaphttps://stephenvickers.dev/notes/useful-roadmap-vs-fantasy-roadmap/https://stephenvickers.dev/notes/useful-roadmap-vs-fantasy-roadmap/A useful roadmap helps a business make trade-offs. A fantasy roadmap records everything people hope will happen.Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTStrategyRoadmapsDeliveryWhy agencies lose margin in deliveryhttps://stephenvickers.dev/notes/why-agencies-lose-margin-in-delivery/https://stephenvickers.dev/notes/why-agencies-lose-margin-in-delivery/Agencies often lose margin through unclear scope, weak handoffs, unmanaged technical debt, and delivery work that should be systemised.Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTExecutionDeliveryTechnicalDebtHow I think about technical debt as a business ownerhttps://stephenvickers.dev/notes/technical-debt-as-a-business-owner/https://stephenvickers.dev/notes/technical-debt-as-a-business-owner/Technical debt only matters when it changes risk, cost, speed, quality, or the confidence with which a business can make decisions.Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTArchitectureTechnicalDebtLeadership