FractionalDataArchitect
Book a discovery call

Notes on dataarchitecture.

Short essays on architecture, cost, hiring and AI: one cartoon, one idea, most days of the week. No tutorials, no listicles.

Mar 1, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

Communication Overhead Kills Data Team Velocity

You doubled your data team. Delivery got worse. Fred Brooks explained why in 1975.

Read →
Feb 28, 2026 Technical Debt & Economics

From EUR80K/Month Cloud Bill to EUR45K - The Optimization Sprint

This company cut their cloud data bill from EUR80K to EUR45K in 6 weeks. No functionality lost.

Read →
Feb 27, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

Analytics Lead Time - The Time to Insight Metric

Your data team takes 2 weeks to answer a business question. That decision's already been made.

Read →
Feb 26, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

The Five Ideals Applied to Data Teams

Gene Kim wrote The Unicorn Project about a developer trapped in bureaucracy. Data engineers live that story every day.

Read →
Feb 25, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

The Shadow IT Problem - When Fast Beats Right

Shadow IT doesn't start with rogue employees. It starts when the gap between 'I need this' and 'we can deliver this' gets too wide.

Read →
Feb 24, 2026 Data Architecture & Strategy

The 6 Dimensions of Data Quality

Data quality has 6 dimensions. Most teams only measure 2. Here's what you're missing.

Read →
Feb 23, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

The Three Ways Applied to Data Pipelines

Your data team ships pipelines fast. That's the First Way. They're ignoring the other two.

Read →
Feb 22, 2026 Platform & Velocity

Platform Scaling Without Hiring

Five times the data. Same number of people. No new hires. The only way through? Rethink the architecture.

Read →
Feb 21, 2026 Data Architecture & Strategy

Data Observability Practical Start

Data observability sounds expensive and complex. Here's how to start in one afternoon.

Read →
Feb 20, 2026 Data Architecture & Strategy

Data Architecture Review - What's Actually Involved

A data architecture review uncovers hidden risks before they become expensive problems. Here's what mine covers and why most teams need one …

Read →

Want expert eyes on your data architecture?

No pitch. An honest conversation about whether I can help, and what shape it would take if I can.