Fractional software delivery leadership
Software delivery needs an owner. Borrow one for a while.
I run your software program or delivery function one to three days a week, from inside your team. I'm accountable for the plan, the risks and the decisions. You get your time back, and a team that can carry on without me.
Free. You tell me what's going on, and we decide together whether I can help. Prefer to read first? Read it as a deck.
Illustrative example. Not a real client's report.
You probably know if you're one of these companies.
It's a small group, and they tend to recognize themselves:
- Your CTO spends half the week coordinating delivery instead of leading engineering.
- Two teams are counting on the same engineers, and no one owns the conflict.
- The status meeting reports what happened. No one decides what to do about it.
- You promised a board, a customer or an investor a date, and no one person is accountable for it.
- You need a senior person now. A full-time hire is four months away, or isn't the right answer.
Probably not for you if
- You need a full-time executive. I'm part-time on purpose.
- No one has the authority to make decisions. I can't fix that from the delivery seat.
- You want a big team, a framework or a long deck. I'm one person.
I run delivery. I don't replace your leadership.
What I own
- The plan and the cadence
- The risks, said out loud
- The decisions that keep coming back around
- A status the executives can rely on
- Who reviews AI-written code, and what has to be true before it ships
What stays with you
- Hiring and firing
- Budget
- Architecture and technical direction
- Strategy and priorities. I'll push on them, but they're yours.
It varies, but there's a rhythm.
Early in the week I check the plan against what people actually did, and I get the picture from the team rather than the report. Midweek is for decisions: I take the stuck ones to whoever can make them and don't let them sit. By the end of the week you get one page covering where we are, what changed, and what I need from you. It's the same page I work from.
Some weeks are one day, some are three. We agree the number up front and change it when the work changes.
What changes, and when you'll see it.
- Week 1: Listen. I talk to the people doing the work, read what exists, and find out what's true. I don't change anything yet.
- Weeks 2 and 3: Reset. Priorities, owners, cadence. The plan gets rewritten so people believe it, including the people who stopped believing.
- Week 4: Run. I'm running it. You see one clear picture each week, and decisions are getting made.
The goal is that you stop needing me.
From the start we talk about who takes over: someone on your team, a hire we find together, or you. I leave the cadence, the weekly page and the way decisions get made in a form your team can keep using.
If I think the work is done before you do, I'll say so. Fewer days is a fine outcome.
The questions people ask first.
Why not just hire someone?
Sometimes you should. If the role is permanent and you can wait, hire. I'm useful when the problem is now, when you're not sure what role you need, or when you'd like your first hire to inherit something that works.
Do you work on site?
I work remotely, US-wide, inside your tools and meetings. If an in-person day would help, ask.
What does it cost?
It depends on the days and the situation. After a short call I'll send a fixed monthly fee in writing within a day. There's no hourly meter.
What if it isn't working?
Say so, and we stop or change the shape. I'd rather stop early than keep going because it's comfortable.
Can we start smaller?
Yes. A Two-Week Reality Check is a fixed-fee way to find out what's true before you decide anything bigger.
What happens when you book
- We talk for 20 minutes. It's free. You describe the situation, and I tell you whether I can help.
- I send a fee in writing. A fixed monthly fee, within a day, if it fits.
- You decide. If it's yes, we agree the days and a start date. If it's no, you've spent twenty minutes.
Who you'd be talking to
I'm Badri S. I've run programs and whole portfolios, and built the operating model for a new delivery division, so I know what running delivery day to day takes, and what it takes to leave something your team can keep running. I've also led delivery of AI-enabled services. More than twenty years in software delivery; independent since 2026.
Other ways to work together
If this isn't quite your situation, one of these may be.
Advisory
You have a decision coming and nobody neutral to think it through with.
Tell me what needs running.
Twenty minutes, free. If this isn't the right shape of help, I'll tell you that too.
Or email badri@deliveryliftpm.com. I reply within one business day.