# Product Leadership — estimation & fractional CTO | Pingvin > Project estimation as a standalone product, architecture design, technical audits, specifications and fractional CTO or tech lead engagements. _Canonical: https://pingvin.dev/services/product-leadership/_ --- 1. [Home](/) 2. [Services](/services/) 3. Product Leadership Services # Product Leadership A number you can defend, and someone accountable for the architecture. What it is Estimation, architecture, technical audits and part-time technical leadership — sold separately from any build. Who it's for Founders who need a defensible number before raising or committing, and teams without a senior technical voice in the room. Result A written artefact you can act on: an estimate, an audit verdict, an architecture, or a delivery process that works. [Book a call](/contact/)[Get an estimate](/pricing/) ## The problem Most projects do not fail during development. They fail at the estimate, when a number gets agreed that nobody broke down, and every later argument is really about that number. Or they fail in the architecture, when a decision made in week two makes month six impossible. We have estimated over two hundred projects, and the pattern is consistent: the teams that ship are the ones who wrote down what they were assuming. This direction is that writing-down, sold on its own — you can buy the estimate without buying the build. ## What's included - Project estimation as a standalone product — breakdown by feature, stated assumptions, risk register - A range rather than a single number, with an explanation of what moves it - Architecture design before implementation starts - Independent technical audit of an existing system, with a written verdict - Salvage assessment: what to keep, what to rewrite, in what order - Technical specifications and requirements documents written for your team to build from - Product discovery, roadmap and prioritisation - Team leadership, tech lead duties and quality control - Fractional CTO or tech lead on a part-time basis - Delivery process diagnosis — usually the real cause when a project has stalled ## How we work on this 1. 01 ### We estimate in the open Every assumption is written down next to the number it affects. When something later turns out differently, you can see exactly which line moved and why. 2. 02 ### Ranges, not false precision A single number implies a certainty nobody has. You get a range with the drivers named, so you can decide what to cut to hit a budget. 3. 03 ### The audit says what it finds If the codebase is fine and the process is the problem, we will say that — even when a rewrite would be a bigger engagement for us. 4. 04 ### Leadership means being accountable On a fractional engagement we own architecture decisions and delivery quality, not just advice. Agreed hours, written artefacts at each stage. ## Stack - Project estimation - Architecture design - Technical audit - Product discovery - Roadmapping - Agile / Scrum / Kanban - Team leadership - Technical specifications ## Powered by Claude Code We use AI-assisted development as part of the production process, not as a demo. In practice that means fewer billed hours for the same delivered scope — the saving lands on your invoice, not in our margin. Our team holds Anthropic certifications in Claude Code, the Model Context Protocol, Agent Skills and the Claude API. ## Packages ### Project Estimate A defensible number for the thing you are about to build. Buyable on its own. Price on request Scoped at estimate #### What's included - Requirements review and clarification round - Breakdown by feature with hours and assumptions stated - Range rather than a single number, with what moves it - Risk register: what could blow the estimate - Walkthrough call #### Not included - Implementation - Vendor selection #### You receive Estimate document with breakdown, assumptions and risks. [Get an estimate](/contact/) Most popular ### Fractional CTO Part-time technical leadership: architecture, hiring bar, delivery quality. Price on request Scoped at estimate #### What's included - Architecture design and review - Technical audit of what already exists - Team leadership, code and delivery quality control - Specifications and technical requirements written for your team - Roadmap, discovery and prioritisation with the founders #### Not included - Full-time availability - Hands-on implementation unless agreed #### You receive Agreed weekly hours, written artefacts at each stage. [Get an estimate](/contact/) ### Rescue & Audit A project that stalled, or a codebase you inherited and do not trust. Price on request Scoped at estimate #### What's included - Independent technical audit with a written verdict - What is salvageable, what must be rewritten, in what order - Delivery process diagnosis — usually the real problem - Prioritised remediation plan with effort attached - Optional: we take over delivery #### Not included - Legal dispute support - Staff decisions #### You receive Audit report, remediation plan, decision call. [Get an estimate](/contact/) ## Related cases [Recruitment Platform](/cases/recruitment-platform/) ### Recruitment Platform HR / Psychometrics We enable our clients to generate massive ROI by using scientifically validated psychometric tests to select the best candidates. Role Full Stack Developer · Tech Lead Duration 4 month - Bubble - Bubble API - Stripe - JavaScript - HTML / CSS / JS [Aroma Library](/cases/aroma-library/) ### Aroma Library Healthcare / EdTech Your Ultimate Learning Platform for Aromatherapy, for beginners and experts alike Quickly find the right essential oils, formulations, and evidence-based insights to create personalized solutions for your clients - saving you time while ensuring safe, effective results. Role Full Stack Developer · Tech Lead Duration V1 - 8 month V2 - 1 month, until now V3 - Not start - Bubble - Bubble API - Algolia - Stripe - Zapier [Swiftle](/cases/swiftle/) ### Swiftle Team Collaboration A platform for communication with clients, signing acts, contracts, creating news for landing, setting roles for workers and clients, payment system,blog builder, admin panel etc. Role Team Lead · Tech Lead · PM · Full Stack Duration 3 month, new version 5 month - Bubble - Stripe - SendGrid - Make - SQL ## Questions about this direction ### Can we buy an estimate without hiring you to build it? Yes, and plenty of clients do. The estimate is a deliverable in its own right: a breakdown by feature, the assumptions behind each number, and a risk register. It is yours to take to any team, including an in-house one. We would rather give you a good number and lose the build than win the build on a bad one. ### What makes your estimates more reliable than ours? Volume and honesty about uncertainty. We have estimated over two hundred projects, which mostly teaches you where estimates go wrong — integrations, data migration, edge cases in permissions, and anything involving a third party's API. We give ranges with named drivers rather than a single figure, so the number does not pretend to a certainty nobody has. ### What does a fractional CTO actually do day to day? Owns architecture decisions and reviews them, sets and holds the quality bar for what ships, writes the technical specifications your developers build from, and runs prioritisation with the founders. It is a defined number of hours per week with written artefacts at each stage, not an open-ended advisory relationship. ### Our project has stalled. Where do you start? With an audit, and usually with the delivery process rather than the code. Stalled projects are far more often a scope and decision-making problem than a technical one. You get a written verdict, a prioritised remediation plan with effort attached, and a call to decide what to do — after which you can take it in-house or hand delivery to us. ## Think this is your problem? Book a call or ask for an estimate. Both are free and neither commits you to anything. [Book a call](/contact/)[All services](/services/)