Architecture | Thomas Nys | The Fractional Data Architect

Specialist vs generalist engineers - balancing depth with cross-team connection

Specialists make things work

Data flow architecture - how pipelines reveal team communication patterns

Every data flow tells a story.

Conway's Law in data - how team communication shapes system architecture

Your architecture mirrors your communication patterns.

Data product strategy - why purpose-driven design prevents project failure

If your data product doesn't start with 'why,' it will en...

Team alignment red flags - when instant agreement signals avoidance

If everyone agrees instantly, nobody's being honest.

Integration architecture reality - people and process over APIs and code

Your real integration layer isn't code

Documentation debt cost - how unclear architecture decisions drain millions

Clarity is cheap. Confusion costs millions.

Data product definition - distinguishing real products from deliverables

Do you actually know what a "data product" is?

Vendor lock-in architecture risk - when tool choices limit data strategy

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

AI governance visibility gap - tracking deployed tools across the organization

Most teams can't even list the AI tools they've deployed.