Bob Rzadzki
I'm an independent technology consultant in Chicago, working where a business's software, systems, and people meet.
I'm usually called in when systems don't talk to each other, when a project has stalled somewhere between vendors, or when a team has outgrown the way it builds software. When I'm done, the work is documented, the plan is clear, and it's in the hands of people who can carry it without me.
What I do
Systems integration
My longest-running specialty: getting unlike systems to agree across vendors, protocols, and organizational boundaries. Much of that time has been spent close to warehouses, distribution, and physical operations, where a bad handoff between two systems shows up as a missed shipment, not just an error log - I know the stakes of getting it right.
Lifting products out of projects
Firms that deliver custom software often find they've built the same thing a dozen slightly different ways, and every new client costs nearly as much as the last. I help find the product hiding in that work, draw it out into its own lifecycle, and allow each project to leave it stronger.
Engineering culture that outlasts the engagement
Standards, testing practice, documentation, and mentorship that keep working after I leave. The outcome team that makes sound & exciting decisions on its own, not one that depends on me.
Technology assessments and roadmaps
Most businesses run on a stack that grew one decision at a time: a point-of-sale system here, a spreadsheet that became a database there, a few logins nobody can find. I look at the whole picture, spend time with the people who use it every day, and design plans for what to integrate, consolidate, replace, and upgrade. I implement these improvements, measure results, and train staff to feel at home with new ways to work.
Getting stalled projects over the line
A website, a platform migration, or an integration that's months past its date, spread across vendors whose scopes depend on each other. I work out what was bought, what was delivered, and what is still owed, then lay out the options. If you want someone on your side of the table through the finish, I stay on and see it through.
Contact
If any of this sounds like something you're dealing with, I'd be glad to hear about it. Email is best: intro@bobrz.com