Fractional CTO Project Scope Template

The most common failure mode in CTO engagements is that the scope was defined by the person who did not understand the technical work — not the person doing it. "Help us with our technical roadmap" is not a scope. A well-scoped CTO engagement has specific technical deliverables, a defined hour commitment, an explicit statement of what the CTO owns versus what they advise on, and a written offboarding plan. This scope-of-work template covers the elements that matter. The scope should specify: the hour commitment per month (not just "as needed"), what the CTO owns specifically (roadmap, hiring, architecture, security, or all of the above), what the CTO does not own (code writing, sprint tickets, day-to-day project management), which meetings the CTO attends, reporting structure (do they report to the CEO, the board, or the VP of Engineering), and the escalation process for technical decisions that need rapid resolution. For a rebuild or new build engagement: define the deliverable clearly (MVP shipped to production, team of N hired and operational, security posture at a defined level), define the timeline (3-9 months is typical), and define the handoff plan (who takes over when the CTO leaves and what documentation is required). The offboarding plan is often missing — it is the most important part of a build engagement. Without it, the company ends the engagement without the institutional knowledge needed to maintain what was built. Define the offboarding plan before signing.