Uncovering the Reality of the Codebase
Technical due diligence (TDD) is not just a checkbox for venture capital and private equity. It is a vital risk mitigation exercise. We look past the glossy product demos to evaluate the bedrock: codebase health, architectural scalability, and the operational maturity of the engineering team.
In our experience evaluating M&A targets, over 60% require a significant, unplanned architectural rewrite within 18 months of acquisition if TDD is not performed rigorously.
Our Assessment Axes
- Architecture & Infrastructure: Scalability bottlenecks, vendor lock-in, disaster recovery.
- Code & Quality: Test coverage reality vs. claims, deployment frequency, CI/CD maturity.
- Security & Compliance: GDPR exposure, data segregation, reliance on vulnerable legacy dependencies.
- Team & Culture: Key person dependencies, onboarding efficiency, alignment between product and engineering.
The Deliverable
| Section | Detail Provided |
|---|---|
| Executive Summary | Go/No-go recommendation with red flags. |
| Risk Matrix | Probability and commercial impact of identified technical flaws. |
| Remediation Plan | Cost and timeline estimates to fix severe issues post-acquisition. |