Your startup's technical debt is a ticking time bomb. Most founders ignore it until everything breaks.
A technical audit finds the problems before they become disasters. It tells you exactly what needs fixing, how urgent it is, and how much it will cost.
Here's the complete guide to conducting a technical audit for your startup.
What Is a Technical Audit?
A technical audit is a comprehensive review of your:
- Codebase: Quality, maintainability, security
- Architecture: Scalability, reliability, performance
- Infrastructure: Hosting, monitoring, backups
- Security: Vulnerabilities, compliance, access controls
- Process: Development practices, deployment, testing
The goal: Identify problems, prioritize them, and create an action plan.
When to Conduct a Technical Audit
Signs you need an audit:
- Development slowing down: Features that took days now take weeks
- Fear of change: Developers afraid to touch certain code
- Recurring bugs: Same issues appearing repeatedly
- Scaling problems: System breaks under load
- Security concerns: No recent security review
- Investment readiness: Preparing for fundraising
- Acquisition interest: Due diligence required
- Annual review: Regular health check
Recommended frequency:
- Startups: Every 12-18 months
- Scaling companies: Every 6-12 months
- Pre-fundraising: Always
The Complete Technical Audit Checklist
1. Codebase Quality
1.1 Code Complexity
| Check | Tool | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Cyclomatic complexity | SonarQube, CodeClimate | < 10 per function |
| File length | ESLint, custom scripts | < 400 lines per file |
| Function length | ESLint, custom scripts | < 50 lines per function |
| Cognitive complexity | SonarQube | < 15 per function |
1.2 Testing Coverage
Coverage Type | Minimum Target | Ideal Target |
|---|---|---|
| Unit tests | 60% | 80% |
| Integration tests | 40% | 60% |
| E2E tests | 20% | 40% |
| Critical paths | 100% | 100% |
2. Security
2.1 Vulnerability Scanning
| Check | Severity | Action Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
Critical vulnerabilities | 🔴 Critical | 24 hours |
High vulnerabilities | 🟠 High | 7 days |
Medium vulnerabilities | 🟡 Medium | 30 days |
Low vulnerabilities | 🟢 Low | 90 days |
Tools: OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, Snyk, Acunetix
3. Performance
3.1 Backend Performance
| Metric | Good | Needs Work |
|---|---|---|
| API response time (p95) | < 200ms | > 500ms |
| Database query time | < 50ms | > 200ms |
| Error rate | < 0.1% | > 1% |
| Uptime | > 99.9% | < 99% |
4. DevOps & Infrastructure
4.1 CI/CD Pipeline
| Check | Status |
|---|---|
☐ Automated testing in CI | |
☐ Automated deployments | |
☐ Environment parity | |
☐ Rollback capability | |
☐ Secrets management |
How to Conduct a Technical Audit
Phase 1: Preparation (1-2 days)
- Define scope: What systems are in scope?
- Gather access: Get necessary credentials and permissions
- Collect data: Pull metrics, logs, and documentation
- Schedule interviews: Talk to developers about pain points
- Prepare tools: Set up auditing tools
Phase 2: Investigation (3-5 days)
- Automated scanning: Run all code and security tools
- Manual review: Review architecture and code manually
- Infrastructure review: Check hosting, monitoring, backups
- Process review: Examine development practices
- Interviews: Talk to team members
Phase 3: Analysis (2-3 days)
- Consolidate findings: Combine all audit results
- Prioritize issues: Rank by severity and impact
- Estimate effort: Estimate fix time and cost
- Create recommendations: Clear action items
- Prepare report: Document findings and suggestions
Sample Technical Audit Report Structure
Executive Summary
- Audit scope and timeline
- Overall health score
- Critical findings summary
- Recommended investment
Detailed Findings
Critical Issues (Fix Immediately)
| Issue | Impact | Effort | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
No SSL on production | Security breach risk | 1 day | Implement immediately |
| No backups | Data loss risk | 2 days | Set up backup system |
Cost Estimate
| Category | Low Estimate | High Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Critical fixes | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| High priority | $15,000 | $40,000 |
| Medium priority | $10,000 | $30,000 |
| Total | $30,000 | $85,000 |
Tools for Technical Audits
Code Quality
- SonarQube
- CodeClimate
- CodeBeat
- Codacy
Security
- OWASP ZAP
- Burp Suite
- Snyk
- Acunetix
Performance
- Lighthouse
- WebPageTest
- Datadog
- New Relic
Quick Audit Checklist
| Category | Check |
|---|---|
Code Quality | ☐ Complexity analysis completed |
☐ Duplication scan completed | |
☐ Test coverage measured | |
☐ Dependencies audited | |
☐ Documentation reviewed | |
Security | ☐ Vulnerability scan completed |
☐ Auth review completed | |
☐ Data protection reviewed | |
☐ Infrastructure security checked | |
☐ Compliance verified | |
Performance | ☐ Backend benchmarks run |
☐ Frontend performance tested | |
☐ Database queries analyzed | |
☐ Load testing completed | |
DevOps | ☐ CI/CD pipeline reviewed |
☐ Monitoring verified | |
| ☐ Backups tested | |
☐ Disaster recovery verified |
The Bottom Line
A technical audit isn't optional. It's how you know where you stand.
Key takeaways:
- Audit every 12-18 months
- Prioritize by severity, not popularity
- Fix critical issues immediately
- Budget $30,000-$85,000 for fixes
- Create an action plan and track progress
The cost of an audit is nothing compared to the cost of a technical disaster.
At Startupbricks, we've conducted dozens of technical audits for startups. We know what to look for, how to prioritize, and how to create actionable plans.