# Cto Review

> /cs:cto-review <plan> — Architecture and scaling interrogation. Tech debt, scaling cliffs, team scaling, build-vs-buy.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-alexbramall-claude-code-skills-cto-review`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [AlexBramall](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/alexbramall)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [AlexBramall](https://github.com/AlexBramall)
- **Source:** https://github.com/AlexBramall/claude-code-skills/tree/main/c-level-advisor/c-level-agents/skills/cto-review

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-alexbramall-claude-code-skills-cto-review
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# /cs:cto-review — CTO Forcing Questions

**Command:** `/cs:cto-review `

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 reliability tradeoffs.
- See `engineering/slo-architect` for SLO design.

### 6. Security & Compliance Surface
**What does this expose, and has cs-ciso-advisor signed off?**
- Architecture decisions are compliance decisions.
- Loop in cs-ciso-advisor before commit.

## Workflow

1. Run the tech debt analyzer + team scaling calculator
2. Define the scaling-cliff hypothesis explicitly
3. Cross-check with cs-ciso-advisor for security implications
4. Apply the verdict

## Output Format

```markdown
# CTO Review: 
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD

## Scaling Cliff
- Current capacity: 
- Break point: 
- Headroom: X months at current growth

## Tech Debt
- Top item: 
- Cost per week: $X or N eng-hours
- Blocking date estimate: 

## Team
- Open reqs: N
- Median ramp: X months
- Contribution model: 

## Build vs Buy
- 3-year build TCO: $X
- 3-year buy TCO: $X
- Strategic fit: 
- Decision: BUILD | BUY

## Reliability
- SLO defined: yes / no
- Error budget burn: X% (target  $100K
- `/cs:execute` — quarterly plan
- `/cs:boardroom` — for architecture pivots

## Related

- Agent: [`cs-cto-advisor`](../../../../agents/c-level/cs-cto-advisor.md)
- Skill: [`cto-advisor`](../../../skills/cto-advisor/SKILL.md)
- SLO: `../../../../engineering/slo-architect/`

---

**Version:** 1.0.0

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [AlexBramall](https://github.com/AlexBramall)
- **Source:** [AlexBramall/claude-code-skills](https://github.com/AlexBramall/claude-code-skills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-alexbramall-claude-code-skills-cto-review
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/alexbramall
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

---
Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.