Engineering Excellence Mentorship

Weekly Mentorship Services for Engineering Teams

Consulting service providing weekly engineering mentorship focused on technical practices, capability building, and sustained improvement through consistent engagement.

One hour per week of focused engineering guidance addressing code quality, delivery practices, technical systems, and team capability development.

Service Delivery Model

Weekly engineering mentorship delivered through one-hour focused sessions. Services address technical practices, code quality systems, delivery pipeline design, and engineering capability development.

Delivered through timeboxed retainer engagement with full risk reversal. No hourly billing, no fixed deliverables, just capacity retained for ongoing engineering mentorship.

Technical practice coaching – CI/CD, testing strategies, code quality, and engineering discipline
Pipeline and tooling guidance – Architecture decisions, DevOps practices, and workflow design
Team capability building – Mentorship approach that builds internal capability rather than dependency
Continuous improvement support – Weekly engagement enabling sustained practice adoption

Mentorship Service Components

Technical Guidance

  • Code quality and testing practices
  • CI/CD pipeline design and implementation
  • Architecture decisions and technical debt strategies
  • DevOps practices and tooling selection

Practice Development

  • Engineering discipline and workflow design
  • Team capability assessment and coaching
  • Continuous improvement system design
  • Technical standards and quality systems

Ongoing Support

  • Weekly problem-solving sessions
  • Real-time architectural guidance
  • Team mentorship and skill transfer
  • Implementation support and validation

Service Areas of Focus

Weekly mentorship addresses the technical practices and engineering systems that support sustained delivery capability.

Engineering Practices

Test-driven development, continuous integration, code review practices, and quality automation.

Delivery Systems

CI/CD pipeline design, deployment automation, release practices, and delivery confidence.

Architecture Decisions

Technical debt management, system design, scalability considerations, and architectural patterns.

Team Capability

Engineering discipline, workflow design, practice adoption, and capability building.

Engagement Delivery

Weekly Sessions

One hour per week, scheduled consistently, providing regular touchpoints for guidance and progress review.

Flexible Format

One-to-one with technical leads, small group sessions, or team-wide depending on needs and context.

Real-Time Problem Solving

Guidance on actual engineering challenges, architectural decisions, and technical blockers as they arise.

Actionable Guidance

Every session concludes with clear next steps and implementation guidance for immediate application.

Service Rhythm and Structure

Mentorship follows a consistent weekly rhythm, building momentum through regular engagement and sustained focus on engineering capability development.

Weekly Engagement

  • 60-minute focused mentorship sessions
  • Consistent scheduling for sustained momentum
  • Regular progress review and guidance
  • Ongoing accessibility between sessions

Topics Covered

  • Engineering practices and technical systems
  • CI/CD pipeline design and optimisation
  • Code quality and testing strategies
  • Architecture decisions and technical debt

Delivery Approach

  • Problem-solving on real engineering challenges
  • Guidance tailored to team context and needs
  • Implementation support and validation
  • Capability building, not dependency creation

Mentorship Services Provided

Weekly mentorship addressing engineering practices, technical systems, and delivery capability through consistent engagement.

Service Format

Four 60-minute sessions per month

  • One-to-one or group format depending on context
  • Real-time guidance on engineering challenges
  • Consulting, coaching, and technical mentorship combined
  • Clear implementation guidance following each session

Topics Addressed

  • Engineering practices supporting sustainable delivery
  • CI/CD pipeline design and optimisation
  • Code quality practices and technical debt strategies
  • Architectural decisions and refactoring approaches
  • Testing strategies and deployment practices
  • DevOps principles and implementation
  • Team dynamics and engineering systems
  • Practice adoption tailored to team context

Service Rhythm

Week 1: Assessment and priority identification

Week 2: Implementation guidance and support

Week 3: Practice deepening and system refinement

Week 4: Reflection and forward planning

250+ engineering teams. Decades of impact. One consistent outcome:

Engineering excellence

Martin doesn’t theorize about software engineering, he transforms it.

The Track Record:

  • 17 consecutive years as Microsoft MVP - a recognition reserved for those who demonstrably advance the software industry
  • 1,000+ engagements across three continents - from chaotic startups to enterprise-scale transformations
  • Expert in DevOps, CI/CD, and engineering excellence - the practices that separate high-performing teams from everyone else

What Engineering Leaders Say:

“Thanks to Martin’s guidance and support we successfully upgraded to TFS 2010 from an unstable TFS 2005 database, moved our dev team to Visual Studio 2010 and implemented the finest product build process ever known!

I would recommend Martin to anyone, in fact I would insist they use him as he’s the best ALM consultant I’ve worked with.”

Paul Martin | Interim IT Director

Service Pricing and Engagement

Monthly mentorship retainer: £900 per month

Service includes:

  • Four one-hour mentorship sessions per month
  • Individual or team format depending on context
  • Real-time problem-solving on engineering challenges
  • Actionable guidance between sessions
  • Sustained weekly engagement building capability

Engagement terms:

  • Timeboxed monthly retainer, no hourly billing
  • No long-term contracts required
  • Full risk reversal if not satisfied
  • No fixed deliverables, outcome co-creation within capacity

Why NKD Agility?

Deep Technical Expertise

Microsoft MVP with decades of hands-on engineering and DevOps experience, not theoretical consulting.

Sustained Engagement

Weekly rhythm builds capability over time, not one-off training that fades.

Practical Focus

Real problems, real solutions, actionable guidance, no abstract frameworks without context.

Engagement Model

Timeboxed retainer with full risk reversal. No hourly billing, no change orders, no long-term contracts required.

Engineering mentorship building internal capability. Book a consultation.

Book a Consultation

Connect with Martin Hinshelwood

If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.

Our Happy Clients​

We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.​

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