What a CTO Needs to Consider When Choosing a Technology Stack

When I was a developer, I was always drawn to the latest languages and frameworks. Even if they came with quirks, the excitement of working with something new made the challenges worth it. I’d spend hours setting things up—installing components, writing a simple app, deploying it with the click of a button—only to end up troubleshooting in the backend for hours.

That excitement often landed me roles as the go-to expert, but in reality, I became more of a first-line support person.

As a CTO, it’s critical to stay on top of trends, but jumping into the latest tech without caution can be costly. Is it worth losing man-days while your team gets familiar with a shiny new tool? Sure, they might enjoy exploring it, but at the end of the day, productivity is what counts, and that directly affects your budget.

Key Considerations When Evaluating a New Framework

When evaluating a new framework as a CTO, you need to balance technical excitement with practical reality. It’s not just about whether the technology is cool; it’s about whether it serves the business. Here are some key things to keep in mind:

1. Developer Availability: If only a few developers know this framework, building and expanding your team will be a challenge. It’s not just about finding talent—it’s about finding affordable talent.
2. Cost of Developers: Niche frameworks can lead to inflated salaries. If the framework requires high technical skill, expect to pay more. That might make sense for cutting-edge projects but could strain your budget in the long run.
3. Framework Cost: Open source isn’t always free when you factor in support and integration. If the framework isn’t open source, look out for rising costs, especially if initial discounts for startups disappear once you grow.
4. Setup Time: How long will it take for developers to get this running on their machines and set up for continuous integration? The time cost here is often underestimated, and the longer the setup, the longer until your team becomes productive.
5. Deployment Complexity: Even though deployment processes have improved, certain frameworks still come with component compatibility issues. Hours lost troubleshooting deployment bugs can add up quickly, eating into project timelines.
6. Fit for Purpose: Does the framework align with your company’s vision and long-term goals? It may be perfect now, but can it scale with you as the company grows?
7. Scalability for Teams: When your team grows, you’ll want a framework that allows new developers to come up to speed quickly. Is the codebase structured in a way that makes this possible?
8. Active Support: Even with open-source projects, active community support is crucial. You don’t want your developers spending more time fixing framework issues than working on your product.
9. Security: Depending on your application, security concerns will vary. Ensure that the framework’s security components are robust and well-documented. You want to minimise vulnerabilities from the outset.

Share Knowledge to Avoid Duplicating Efforts

When introducing a new framework to the technology stack, one critical aspect to consider is how knowledge is distributed across your development teams. You don’t want multiple teams independently evaluating or learning the same new technology at different times. This can lead to inefficiencies, as teams repeat the same mistakes, face the same challenges, and burn unnecessary time and resources.

To avoid this, establish a clear process for knowledge sharing:

• Designate Early Adopters: Assign one team or a small group of developers to act as the early adopters. Let them take the lead in evaluating the framework, building prototypes, and working through initial challenges.
• Document and Share Learnings: As the early adopters explore the framework, have them document their findings in detail. Encourage them to share not just successes but also pain points, setup procedures, and best practices they’ve discovered.
• Internal Knowledge Sessions: Once the framework has been validated, hold internal knowledge-sharing sessions where the early adopters can pass on their expertise to other teams. This avoids each team going through the same learning curve and allows for a smoother transition.
• Create Centralised Resources: Ensure all key insights, setup instructions and troubleshooting tips are centralised in a repository accessible by all teams. This repository should be kept up-to-date as the framework evolves.

By fostering this culture of knowledge sharing, you not only reduce the time spent evaluating new technologies but also ensure that your teams can move faster and more efficiently. It also helps you avoid fragmented implementations, where different teams might handle the same framework in inconsistent ways.

Conclusion

If you’re starting a new project, it’s essential to have a shortlist of frameworks that align with both your technical and business needs. Evaluate each one with a clear focus on the considerations outlined above.

Ideally, if you’re looking to introduce a new framework into your existing technology stack, start small: have one developer or a small team build a simple prototype. This way, you can validate the framework’s suitability before fully committing to it.

Finally, a word of caution: don’t just choose a framework because it’s your favourite or the one you’re most familiar with. Familiarity can lead to bias, and what worked in the past might not be the best option for your current or future needs. Thorough evaluation, based on both technical fit and cost-effectiveness, is critical.

Choosing the right technology stack is one of the most important responsibilities of a CTO. It’s a decision that affects not just your technical roadmap but your company’s overall success. By balancing innovation with practicality, you’ll ensure your team is set up for long-term success—both technically and financially.