cto-reviewlisted

# /cs:cto-review — CTO Forcing Questions **Command:** `/cs:cto-review <plan>` Pressure-tests architecture and engineering scaling decisions. Six questions to surface the next scaling cliff before you hit it. ## When to Run - Before approving a major architecture change - Before doubling the engineering team - Before a build-vs-buy decision > $100K/year - When a system is showing reliability stress (SLOs missed) - Before committing to a new platform / language / DB ## The Six CTO Questions ### 1. Scaling Cliff **Where does the current architecture break, in terms of users / requests / data volume?** - Be specific. "It breaks at 10× current load because the primary DB writes saturate." - If you don't know, run a load test before deciding. ### 2. Tech Debt Inventory **What's the top tech debt item, what's it costing per week, and when does it become blocking?** ```bash python ../../../skills/cto-advisor/scripts/tech_debt_analyzer.py ``` ### 3. Team Scaling **For each open req, what's the ramp time and contribution model?** ```bash python ../../../skills/cto-advisor/scripts/team_scaling_calculator.py ``` ### 4. Build vs Buy **Why are we building this instead of buying it — and what's the 3-year TCO of each?** - If "we want control" or "it's not that hard" — push back. - If the answer is "this is our core moat," build. ### 5. SLO / Reliability **What are the SLOs for this system and what's the current error budget burn?** - Without an SLO, you can't reason about reliabil