Tech Due Diligence xlsx

Tech DD Code Review Checklist

Technology Due Diligence is increasingly critical in M&A transactions, investment rounds, and strategic partnerships — yet most companies approach code reviews ad hoc, missing critical issues that surface months or years later. This structured code review checklist provides a systematic framework for evaluating a technology organization's codebase, development practices, and technical architecture, whether you are assessing your own company's readiness or evaluating an acquisition target. The checklist covers the dimensions that experienced technical acquirers and investors evaluate: code quality and maintainability, architecture and scalability, security practices, testing and quality assurance, deployment and DevOps maturity, technical debt assessment, dependency management, documentation quality, and regulatory compliance considerations. Each dimension includes specific evaluation criteria, scoring guidance, and red-flag indicators that signal potential risks requiring deeper investigation. What sets this template apart from generic code review checklists is its focus on business-relevant technical assessment. Every evaluation criterion is tied to its business impact — how code quality affects development velocity, how architecture choices impact scaling costs, how security practices affect regulatory risk, and how technical debt influences future investment requirements. This business-context framing makes the template equally valuable for technical evaluators conducting the review and for non-technical stakeholders (investors, board members, M&A teams) who need to understand the findings. The scoring system produces a summary report that translates technical findings into business language, making it an effective communication tool between technical and business teams.

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What's Inside

Comprehensive code quality evaluation matrix covering readability, consistency, complexity, and maintainability

Architecture assessment framework evaluating scalability, modularity, coupling, and technology choices

Security practices checklist covering OWASP Top 10, authentication, authorization, data protection, and dependency vulnerabilities

Testing maturity evaluation with criteria for unit tests, integration tests, e2e tests, and coverage metrics

DevOps and CI/CD pipeline assessment covering build automation, deployment frequency, rollback capability, and monitoring

Technical debt quantification worksheet with severity scoring and estimated remediation effort

Dependency health assessment including license compliance, maintenance status, and known vulnerability tracking

Executive summary generator that translates technical scores into business-impact language for non-technical stakeholders

Who It's For

CTOs and VP Engineering teams preparing their company for acquisition or investment due diligence Technical advisors and consultants conducting technology due diligence on behalf of investors or acquirers Private equity and venture capital firms evaluating technology investments M&A teams assessing the technical capabilities and risks of acquisition targets Engineering leaders who want to objectively assess and improve their team's technical practices

How It Works

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use this for internal engineering assessments, not just M&A?

Absolutely. While the template is designed with due diligence scenarios in mind, it works equally well as an internal engineering health check. Many CTOs use it quarterly or semi-annually to objectively assess their team's practices, identify areas for improvement, and track progress over time. The business-impact framing helps justify engineering investments to non-technical leadership.

How long does a typical tech DD code review take using this template?

For a small to mid-sized codebase (under 500K lines of code), a thorough review using this template typically takes 2-5 days for an experienced technical reviewer. Larger codebases or more complex architectures may take 1-2 weeks. The template helps you prioritize which areas to evaluate deeply versus which can be assessed at a higher level, making the process efficient without sacrificing thoroughness.

Do I need access to the source code to use this checklist?

Full source code access yields the most thorough assessment. However, several sections of the checklist can be evaluated through interviews, documentation review, and demonstrations — including architecture assessment, DevOps practices, testing strategy, and team processes. The template notes which criteria require source code access and which can be evaluated through alternative means.

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