# Architecture Sprint — One Hard Decision in 1–2 Weeks

> An architecture sprint is a fixed one- to two-week engagement ($2,500) where a senior engineer diagnoses one hard architectural decision — such as monolith vs. microservices, build vs. buy, database scaling, or AI pipeline design — and delivers a written recommendation with trade-offs, not a vague slide deck.

**Author:** Muneeb Hussain · Fractional CTO & AI Advisor
**Last updated:** 2026-05-26
**Engagement:** Architecture sprint — $2,500 one-off
**Best for:** Founder or eng lead blocked on one specific architectural call.

**Book:** [https://cal.com/themuneebh/30min](https://cal.com/themuneebh/30min) · **Email:** [hello@themuneebh.com](mailto:hello@themuneebh.com)

## What is an architecture sprint?

An architecture sprint is a time-boxed engagement focused on exactly one decision that is blocking your team — not open-ended consulting, not a full system rewrite proposal.

You bring the problem (e.g., 'should we split the monolith before Series A?', 'which LLM routing layer do we need?', 'can this Postgres schema survive 10× traffic?'). I bring structured analysis, options with trade-offs, and a recommendation you can execute.

## Typical decisions I answer

Sprints work best when the question is specific enough to decide in two weeks. Vague 'review our architecture' requests become scoped down on the discovery call.

- Monolith vs. services — when to split, what to extract first, migration path.
- Build vs. buy — evaluate vendor vs. in-house for a specific capability (auth, search, AI inference, etc.).
- Data layer — Postgres scaling, read replicas, caching strategy, or when to add a queue.
- AI/LLM architecture — single-call vs. agent, model routing, eval strategy, cost projection.
- Integration design — third-party API, webhook pipeline, or event-driven refactor scope.

## How the sprint runs

Week 1: discovery call, access to repo/docs, async questions to the team. Week 2: analysis, optional live working session, written deliverable and readout call.

- Day 1–2: Kickoff call + ingest codebase, ADRs, and constraints (team size, timeline, budget).
- Day 3–7: Analysis, spike review, optional 60-min working session with eng lead.
- Day 8–10: Written decision doc + 30-min readout with founder/CTO.

## Deliverable format

The output is an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) style document: context, options considered, trade-offs, recommendation, and first implementation steps. Not 40 slides — something your team can commit in Git.

## Proof points

- Production AI systems at scale: media localization, dubbing pipelines, AI twins
- Stack: TypeScript, Next.js, Python, FastAPI, Postgres, LLMs, MCP

## FAQ

### How is this different from the monthly advisor retainer?

The sprint is fixed scope and price for one decision. The monthly advisor is ongoing judgment across many problems. Many founders start with a sprint on the hardest blocker, then move to retainer.

### Do you implement the recommendation?

No — brain, not hands. The deliverable is the decision and implementation plan. Your engineers execute; I am available for a follow-up call if questions arise during rollout.

### What if the problem is too big for two weeks?

We scope down to the decision that unlocks everything else, or I will say the engagement is wrong and recommend embedded weekly presence instead.

### Can this cover AI/LLM architecture?

Yes — common sprint topics include model routing, agent vs. single-call design, eval coverage, and cost projections based on production patterns from my operating team.

## Links

- HTML version: [https://themuneebh.com/architecture-sprint](https://themuneebh.com/architecture-sprint)
- Homepage: [https://themuneebh.com/](https://themuneebh.com/)
- LLM index: [/llms.txt](https://themuneebh.com/llms.txt)

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