I'm Christoph, an independent consultant. I work alongside your engineers on technical debt, quality and the practices that make improvements last, rather than handing over a report and leaving.
Because good software isn't just code, it's care.
Tell me what you're dealing withI won't just audit your code and leave you with a report. I'll work directly with your team to understand the debt, prioritise what matters most and guide you through sustainable improvements that keep your business running.
Simply handing over recommendations and walking away wouldn't improve much for you. I work directly with you and your team, providing hands-on guidance through every challenge.
Scaling isn't just about adding more people or servers. It's about building systems and processes that grow with you. I'll be there as your organisation evolves, providing ongoing guidance and support.
When projects are in crisis, you need someone who'll roll up their sleeves and work through the problems with you, not someone who points out what's wrong from the sidelines.
I don't show up with a predetermined solution or the latest framework. I show up ready to listen, understand your actual challenges and work shoulder-to-shoulder with you to solve them using reliable tools and methods.
I emphasise proven and well-understood technologies that your team can hire for, maintain and sleep well at night knowing they work. The excitement comes from solving real problems, not from using the shiniest new framework.
I'll tell you the truth about what I see, even when it's uncomfortable. If something can't be fixed, I'll say so. If it'll take longer than you'd like, I'll explain why. Trust starts with honesty.
Most of what I think about software ends up here first. Quality, testing and what changes now that we work alongside agents.
Moving a convention out of a document and into the linter turns a request into a rule. There is one more step after that. I wrote one writing rule down for ten years and it changed nothing. Now I decide it once and never think about it again.
The talk around agents is all about new machinery. Often the better move is to point the old machinery at the agent's output. A convention in a document is a request. In the linter it becomes a rule.
Passing tests tell you the code ran. They do not tell you the design is sound. A story about test-induced design damage in AI-written code.
Alongside consulting, I build and write things you can use on your own.
A book that test-drives a real spreadsheet component from the first design idea to a working product.
A macOS app that keeps your calendars in sync on your own device, with no servers and no third party accounts.
Hi, I'm Christoph, the founder of Very Good Software. I've spent over 15 years helping teams improve their codebases, architecture and development practices.
This work is personal. I believe good software comes from care, clarity and consistency. I'm here to help you get there.
Let's talk about how Very Good Software can support you and your team.
Get in Touch