Vedran “Brko” Križek
Product Owner & Business Analyst
who deeply understands how software gets built - and has scars to prove it
I don't merely talk the talk — I walk the walk with your team
30+ years in every software engineering role. I know how systems get built, what goes wrong, and how to prevent it.30+ years serving in every role in software engineering and delivery.
I don't just document requirements; I know how the system will be built, what might go wrong along the way, and how to help the team prevent it.
Not Your Typical Product Owner
Most Product Owners and Business Analysts excel in one domain — either business OR technology. I've spent 30+ years actively working in both. On mission critical, high-traffic, high-impact projects.
Developer
Writing and deploying production code for high-traffic, mission critical systems
Architect
Designing high-traffic systems, from backend to frontend
CTO
Leading teams of 75+ engineers, project managers, and BA/POs
Head of BA
Discovering and managing project scope and delivery
I never stopped developing.
I believe that you cannot build what you don't understand. Therefore I make a strong point of actively maintaining my technical “chops” by developing real systems and continuously expanding my technical comfort zone with new tech stacks and architectures.
What this means for you
Requirements I write are 'consumable' by all project stakeholders, not just developers
I spot architectural risks before they become expensive problems
I adapt my approach to your project's real environment, not textbook theory
I can ensure feasibility of requirements before they are implemented
I can manage delivery of disjointed, dislocated, real-world implementation teams
I can competently manage delivery of latest system types such as AI agents, etc.
How I Work With Clients
From project kickoff workshops to joining your team as a hands-on Product Owner — choose the engagement model that fits your needs.
Discovery & Pre-production
Create the foundation for successful delivery
Start with clear understanding of what you need to build. I help you define scope, align stakeholders, and create all necesary pre-requisites for reliable delivery — before a single line of code has been written.
What's included
- •Scope discovery & requirements documentation
- •Value-based scope partitioning & backlog creation
- •Stakeholder alignment workshops
- •Estimation facilitation
- •Pre-sales & technical sales support
- •AI-assisted rapid prototyping
Deliverables: Documented scope, structured backlog, aligned stakeholders, reliable estimates
The first step in every project — with a natural path to hands-on delivery if you need ongoing support.
Fractional Product Owner & BA
I walk the walk with your team
I become your Product Owner or Business Analyst for the duration of your project. Not a consultant who observes and advises from the sidelines — I'm an active team member who owns the backlog, drives delivery, and ensures you ship successfully.
What's included
- •Acting as your Product Owner or Business Analyst
- •Requirements refinement & backlog management
- •Value prioritization & sprint planning
- •Stakeholder communication & expectation management
- •Delivery facilitation, demos, and risk mitigation
- •Managing off-site, external, and disjointed implementation teams
Typical engagement: 3-12+ months · Part-time (fractional) or full-time · Remote or hybrid (Croatia)
Training & Workshops
Build your team's capabilities to deliver impact - reliably
Custom-tailored education that combines theory with hands-on practice using your actual projects and tech stack.
Topics
- •Requirements Engineering (layered approach)
- •Scope Discovery & Impact Mapping
- •Reliable and effective Agile (or merely incremental) Delivery for Technical Teams
- •AI-Assisted Development Practices
Format: 1-4 day workshops · On-site or remote · Group or individual
Not sure which engagement model fits? Let's talk and figure it out together.
Start a ConversationWhat Clients Say
Real feedback from people I've worked with
“I have known Vedran since 2009, when he was CTO at Trikoder leading the development of the Njuškalo technical platform and I was CEO of Njuškalo. He was my main technical counterpart and a key contrib...”
Goran Rubcic
CEO & Board member
Njuskalo
“I'm delighted to recommend Vedran Krizek, with whom I've had the pleasure of working closely. Vedran stands out as one of the best business analysts I have ever collaborated with. His exceptional abil...”
Henri de Mooij
CTO
Cliq
Track Record
30+ years of building, leading, teaching, and delivering.
Leadership & Teams
CTO & Co-founder
Trikoder
Led teams of ~50 engineers
Head of Business Analysis
Undabot
Bridged clients and engineering teams
- •Managed projects across Croatia, Netherlands, Germany, Austria
- •Led engineering, BA, and product teams, both remote and on-site
- •15+ years in technical leadership roles
- •Extensive pre-sales and technical sales experience
Technical Experience
Notable (Publicly accessible) Projects
njuskalo.hr
Marketplace & classifieds
wogibtswas.at
Marketplace platform
tportal.hr
News & services portal
and many more
Various domains
Project Types
- •E-commerce & marketplace platforms
- •High-traffic news & content systems
- •Enterprise internal applications
- •AI-powered customer-facing apps
Community & Speaking
- •Regular speaker at EU and regional conferences, meetups, and workshops
- •Published writer on Medium, on the topics of requirements engineering, reliable delivery, and generative AI in software engineering
- •Advocates for 'functional design first' approach to software engineering
- •Pioneering 'solution design' approach for selecting optimal solutions from the problem space
Areas of Expertise
I help your team deliver impact instead of just code and features
Deep knowledge across the full spectrum of software delivery.
Web Applications & High-Traffic Systems
Large-scale platforms with millions of users
Requirements Engineering
Layered, stakeholder-friendly documentation
Scope Discovery & Management
From initial discovery to controlled delivery
Agile Delivery & Process Optimization
Making agile work in real-world conditions
AI-Assisted Development
Practical integration of AI tools in engineering
Pre-sales & Technical Sales
Winning deals through technical credibility
Publications
Impact-Driven Software Engineering: Part 1, The Functional Impact and Impact-Focused Delivery
This is the first article in a series about an approach to designing and delivering software products. We'll frame the problem we aim to solve, introduce the concept of functional impact, and discuss progressive impact-focused delivery.
Read More →
AI Augmented Software Engineering
Everyone is talking about "vibe coding" and the generative AI in the context of software engineering these days — and rightfully so, as the impact on the industry is nothing short of paradigm shifting.
Read More →
How can the Scrum framework be effectively implemented? (part 1/2)
There are no two ways about it, Scrum has developed a bad reputation and is often used as an example of something that sounds good in principle and what everyone wants to do, but in the "real world" it just does not "cut it".
Read More →Let's Connect
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