Itexus delivered the app according to the requirements. The team met all development milestones and deliverables. They were efficient, friendly, and cooperative. Itexus team was very timely with updates, a regular meeting cadence, and ad-hoc questions and answers via Slack. The team was very responsive and still is.
Software Project Audit and Rescue
Get an independent technical audit to uncover hidden issues hindering your success and get your project back on track
Many software projects fail because hidden issues are identified too late in their lifecycle. To avoid this consider conducting an independent technical audit of your project. You will get a comprehensive report on the key technical aspects of your system, affecting stability, security, performance, cost of maintenance, and other non-functional quality attributes of your project. The report will provide a clear, straightforward explanation of all identified issues, their ramifications, and actionable recommendations for resolution.
What problems may be
identified during the audit?
Bad architecture
Bad software architecture design may have multiple negative consequences. Such as poor performance and scalability, inability to handle large volumes of data and users, weak security, instability, expensive maintenance, etc. And these problems will only get worse as more code is added to the same architecture. The later you fix architecture issues the more expensive it will be as more code will need to be refactored.
Poor code quality
Poor code quality will increase the amount of defects in the system, and will make maintenance and development more expensive. Adding and changing some features may cause other features to stop working. New developers will require more and more time for knowledge transfer and will make more mistakes. If this problem is not addressed too long sometimes the client becomes a hostage to his development team and it is literally impossible to change the dev team
Legacy software usage
Your system might be using outdated components and technologies. This means it may have security vulnerabilities and technical debt. The new code added to the system will only increase this debt and will make fixing the problem more and more expensive later. Make sure you upgrade third-party components and libraries and only use up-to-date, well-supported, secure technologies in your project!
Low product quality
A lot of unchecked functional defects in the software may lead to loss of valuable data, outages, unhappy users, claims from the end clients, and customer churn
Lack of automated testing
As the system grows the regression testing of the existing functionality must be automated. Because it becomes extremely expensive and time-consuming to manually retest all existing functionality with each new version.
Weak security
failure to meet best practices and standards in software security may lead to loss of data, and your system being hacked or client’s money being stolen. Security is not something you want to cut corners on
Poorly organized development process
Not following the proper development process usually leads to missed deadlines, budget overruns, higher development costs and client expectations not being met.
Poor UI/UX design
Not following best practices and standards in UI/UX design and not analyzing end-user feedback in development can lead to a confusing user interface, unhappy clients, bad reviews, lower sales and customer retention
Lack of documentation & vague requirements
Inadequate documentation leads to misunderstandings in the team, missed bugs, slower developer performance, missed requirements, and inability to meet deadlines making the whole process unmanageable.
Poor performance and scalability
As the number of users grows the system performance may degrade. Worst case the system may stop working altogether if the amount of users and data reaches a certain limit.
Suboptimal Cloud Infrastructure Setup
Poor cloud infrastructure setup causes performance and scalability issues, system breakdowns, excessive infrastructure costs, and security risks.
If any of these sound all too familiar, you’ve landed in the perfect spot. We’re here to help rescue your project by conducting a thorough audit to identify and resolve any hidden issues that may hinder the success of your project!
Benefits of conducting
a software project audit
- If you uncover and address issues with system security or architecture early on – you will save a lot of money later
- Your current team will be less inclined to cut corners and sweep problems under the carpet knowing that their results are being scrutinized. Besides the audit is a great opportunity for experience exchange and consulting.
- As a result of the audit you may choose to involve Itexus specialists to address some of the uncovered issues in the areas where your team may lack some skills or experience
- If no issues are identified – you will sleep better and will be able to show the detailed, professional audit report to your investors and clients as an independent confirmation of the security and quality of your product
Software Project Rescue Process
Let’s assume the audit is done and some issues are found. How can we help you get your project back on track?
You may just give the audit report to your existing team and let them fix the identified issues. Or you may choose to involve Itexus engineers do it or have the Itexus team take complete ownership of the product and take care of the recovery and future development.
See below how the recovery process will look if you choose Itexus to do it. Depending on your specific situation some steps may be changed or omitted:
01
Planning
Based on the audit results we will elaborate an individual project rescue plan that will combine technical requirements and your business objectives, priorities, and constraints.
The plan will recommend an optimal balance between the resolution of the identified problems, implementation of the new functionality, and support of existing clients.
02
Architecture review
The most important step is to analyze the architecture of the existing system – whether it meets the business goals such as performance, security, total cost of ownership, etc., or not. If the architecture is wrong adding more code in the same architecture will only increase the technical debt.
If any changes in the architecture are required, they will be documented, and validated and all new code changes to the system will be made according to the new target architecture.
03
Manual testing
The most important step is to analyze the architecture of the existing system – whether it meets the business goals such as performance, security, total cost of ownership, etc., or not. If the architecture is wrong adding more code in the same architecture will only increase the technical debt.
If any changes in the architecture are required, they will be documented, and validated and all new code changes to the system will be made according to the new target architecture.
04
Automated testing
Before making changes to existing code and architecture we will cover it with automated tests. Unit, Service, and UI-level automated tests that can be executed in seconds after each code change will ensure that no new defects appear in the existing functionality.
Automated Performance and Load tests will be designed and executed to make sure that the system can handle the required amount of users and data.
Custom penetration tests will be designed and executed to identify security vulnerabilities.
05
Setting up a CI/CD pipeline and deployment process
DevOps engineers will set up a CI/CD pipeline that will automatically assemble new builds of the system, run automated tests, static code quality analyzers and automatically deploy new versions of the system to test, staging and production environments. Eliminating human factor risk in the deployment process.
06
Source Code Review and Refactoring
Existing source code will be thoroughly reviewed by our top engineers and processed by static code quality analyzers such as Sonar Qube
All identified problems with source code quality will be registered as technical debt items in the bug-tracking system such as Jira.
A comprehensive report on the source code quality will be provided to the client. The defects will be fixed in the subsequent releases according to their priority
07
Cloud infrastructure review and optimization
Cloud infrastructure will be reviewed by a DevOps expert for security, performance, and automated scalability. Required changes will be made. Target infrastructure will be documented and scripted using the Infrastructure as a Code approach using tools like Terraform.
That will allow the creation of the new server environments automatically in seconds with no human factor risk.
08
Documentation Restoration
We will restore proper documentation of the system functionality, architecture, infrastructure, and test documentation.
Documentation is required to allow efficient work of the development team, lower communication overhead, fewer defects and rework caused by misunderstanding of the functionality, more precise estimation and planning, manageable process overall.
09
Implementation
Once all preliminary steps are complete identified technical problems will be registered in the backlog, prioritized, and planned for implementation according to their impact and dependencies.
Depending on your business goals and deadlines elimination of the technical debt may be combined with the implementation of the new functionality and support of the existing users.
New versions of the system with fixes and new features will be delivered in two to three-week sprints following the agile/scrum development process.
10
Results
As a result of all the above steps, you will receive a high-quality, high-performance, well-documented, easy-to-maintain, highly secure software system that will pass any due diligence audit from investors or clients.
Your project will be set on the right track. New features will be implemented and released fast, on time and on budget with no defects per a transparent and efficient development process. With no surprises, no accumulation of technical debt, and no hidden issues that can bite you in the most unfortunate moment.
Contact us, and we’ll make it happen!
Reasons to Choose Itexus for Project Audit and Rescue
- As a services company, we have accumulated expertise from hundreds of different projects. Likely, we have already dealt with the issues you are facing.
- We have specific unique experience of auditing systems built by other teams. We know where to look for typical problems.
- We have a large in-house cross-functional development team with over a hundred of engineers with different qualifications and experience. This means that you will have access to a collective expertise in different domains not possible for a smaller team. Additionally, we have a pool of consultants available for more specialized knowledge.
- Your in-house development team may be smaller and not have all the roles and required experience in-house. They may now know what they don’t know.
- Another independent professional opinion never harms
FAQ
What are the telltale signs that my project is experiencing hidden issues and may require an audit and rescue service?
If you come across any of the following situations, you may need to take a deeper look under the hood of your project:
– consistent failure to meet project milestones or deadlines;
– frequent exceeding of the project budget;
– multiple bugs that seem to never end; Fixing one bug causes others to appear
– changing project functionality and adding new features started to take too much time
– hard to change the developers as knowledge transfer takes too much time;
– the cost of cloud infrastructure is too high;
– poor performance;
– absence of project documentation;
– identified security breaches or concerns;
– unhappy clients, users, or stakeholders;
– stagnation or lack of significant progress in the project.
– frequent exceeding of the project budget;
– multiple bugs that seem to never end; Fixing one bug causes others to appear
– changing project functionality and adding new features started to take too much time
– hard to change the developers as knowledge transfer takes too much time;
– the cost of cloud infrastructure is too high;
– poor performance;
– absence of project documentation;
– identified security breaches or concerns;
– unhappy clients, users, or stakeholders;
– stagnation or lack of significant progress in the project.
How much time does a project audit take and what is the cost?
Typically, the timeframe for an audit ranges from a few weeks to one-two months, depending on the project’s size, complexity and specific challenges. The cost is typically in the range of 5 to 12k USD, depending on the project size and audit depth. Contact us to establish an individual audit plan based on the specific needs and challenges of your project.
Is my data and information kept confidential during the audit and rescue process?
Firstly, the audit process does not necessarily require access to the production environment and data. Audit and development may be conducted using test and staging environments. Secondly, as a software project rescue company, we prioritize the confidentiality of your data and information. All findings will be treated as strictly confidential and regulated by a special Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that we sign before starting the project. Access to all information is restricted to authorized team members only, and the data is not copied or transferred to any other location. Your data will remain intact on your servers. Any specific security requirements will be incorporated into the individual audit and rescue plan.
If I don’t want to change my current development team, what value do I get from Itexus audit and rescue service?
You will receive an independent professional opinion on the state of your project. All identified issues will be described and recommendations will be provided. Even if you choose not to involve an Itexus specialist in resolving these issues, it will still serve as valuable consulting for your team and alert you to any unknown issues that need to be addressed. If your project is flawless with no issues, it will provide reassurance that you have a perfect team and project, verified by an independent party. Additionally, based on our experience, such independent reviews usually have a positive effect on the existing team’s work, as they will be less inclined to hide problems.
How can I get started with Itexus’s audit and rescue service?
Contact our team to schedule an initial consultation and discuss your project’s history, challenges, and objectives. Based on that, we’ll put together a detailed audit and rescue proposal for your specific project that will include a detailed audit and rescue plan, estimated timeline, and cost. If you’re happy with our proposal, we can move forward and start the project. If not – the proposal and plan may be adjusted and tailored to your specific situation.
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