Which technologies should we build on?

Questions CTOs ask

How do you choose the right tech stack for a new project?

Evaluate technology choices against five criteria: team expertise (what your team knows reduces time-to-market and risk), ecosystem maturity (libraries, tooling, community support), scalability fit (will it handle your expected growth without replatforming), hiring market (can you find and afford developers), and organizational alignment (does it integrate with existing systems and skills). Weight these based on your constraints — an early-stage startup should prioritize speed-to-market, while an enterprise should weight scalability and support more heavily.

What is an Architecture Decision Record and why use one?

An Architecture Decision Record (ADR) is a short document capturing a significant architecture or technology decision, the context behind it, alternatives considered, and the trade-offs accepted. ADRs prevent knowledge loss when team members leave, avoid relitigating past decisions, and provide onboarding context for new engineers. Use a lightweight template: title, date, status, context, decision, consequences. Store ADRs in version control alongside code so they evolve with the project and are discoverable by the team.