Support & growth
Technical review
An independent look at an application: code quality, security, performance and risk.
What is a technical review?
A technical review is an independent look at an application: how well the code is written and structured, how secure it is, how it performs, how it’s hosted and deployed, and what risks it carries. You get a plain-English report with the findings ranked by risk, and technical detail in an appendix for developers.
What problem does a technical review solve?
Owners often can’t tell whether their software is in good shape until something breaks, or until they ask for a change and it takes three times as long as expected. By then, decisions about it have already been made on guesswork.
A review replaces the guesswork with evidence. You find out what’s sound, what’s risky and what’s worth fixing first, before you invest more, change supplier or commit to a rebuild.
What you get
A plain-English report on the state of the application, and the risks worth addressing first.
Technical review
What’s included
Code quality and structure
How maintainable the code is, and how hard it will be to change.
Security review
Permissions, data handling, dependencies and known weaknesses.
Performance and scalability
Where it slows down now, and where it will struggle as use grows.
Hosting and deployment
How it’s run, backed up and released, and who controls the accounts.
Prioritised findings
Each issue ranked by risk, with a recommended action.
A plain-English report
Written for owners and managers, with technical detail in an appendix.
Who a technical review suits
A good fit for
- Before buying or investing in software. Know what you’re paying for.
- Before a major change or rebuild. Decide on evidence, not frustration.
- When a supplier relationship is in doubt. An independent view of the work so far.
Probably not the right fit if
- The software is a simple website. A website audit is quicker and cheaper.
- You already know you’re replacing it, whatever it contains.
- You want a review to prove a point in a dispute. We report what we find, either way.
How it works
How it works
- 01
Agree the scope
What should be reviewed and the questions it must answer.
- 02
Review
An independent look at the code, hosting and data.
- 03
Report
Findings in plain English, prioritised by risk.
How long does a technical review take?
In a takeover, the review happens in the first week. For larger systems it depends on the size of the codebase and what you need answered, and we confirm the timeline when we agree the scope.
How much does a technical review cost?
It’s a paid review with a fixed quote, agreed upfront once we know the scope and the questions it needs to answer. If you go on to a care plan with us, the review is the first step of it.
Questions
About technical review
Do you need to change anything to review it?
No. The review is read-only unless you ask us to fix something.
Is the report technical?
It’s written for owners and managers, with technical detail in an appendix for developers.
What access do you need?
Read access to the code repository and the hosting, and ideally a short conversation with whoever knows the system best. We tell you exactly what’s needed before we start.
Can you review software built by another company?
Yes. That’s most reviews. We look at the work as it stands, independently, and report what we find either way.
What happens after the review?
You decide. Some businesses take the report to their existing developer; others ask us to fix the priorities or take over the software.
Further reading
Support & growth
More in Support & growth
- Maintenance & hostingHosting, backups and security updates, handled on a schedule.
- MonitoringUptime, errors and performance watched continuously.
- New featuresA steady programme of improvements, prioritised with you and released in small stages.
- Application takeoverTake over an application when a previous developer has moved on.
- All of support & growthThe full service, related work and questions.
Enquire
Talk to us about technical review.
Tell us what you are working on and what you need. An outline is enough to start. We reply within one business day.
Prefer email? hello@vareonhq.com