When was your last software product technical audit? Do you really need one?

How important is a software product technical audit? When you realise that 75% of best-in-class companies conduct formal software evaluations, the answer should be obvious – very important indeed.

So what does a software technical audit involve – and why do best-in-class companies perform them regularly?

What is a software product technical audit?

A software technical audit can be completed at several stages of the product lifecycle – during a product inventory, as part of a post-breach forensic investigation, or to inform the next stage of your software project iteration for instance.

A software technical audit is designed to help you understand the health of your applications. The investigation can be customised to the specific needs of your business, but a project audit checklist will typically include source code, architecture, security and performance.

Source code audit

Your applications will evolve and grow over time, so the quality of your source code is important. By adhering to best practice coding conventions, developers will spend less time fixing bad code and more time building out the new functionality you need. This will make future development faster and more efficient so that you can roll-out updates more quickly.

Architecture audit

The way you use your application is likely to change over time – consider how PC-based software is being rapidly replaced by cloud-based alternatives. Auditing software architecture will help you understand whether your applications are sufficiently scalable and portable to meet the challenges of the future. 32% of businesses struggle with architectural planning because they lack knowledge of their current models and components. This lack of insight creates problems when trying to define a future-ready IT strategy.

Security audit

Is your software properly secured against hacking, data leakage and third-party interference? The security audit can answer all these questions, highlighting shortcomings that must be addressed in order to protect your systems and information stores.

Performance audit

A software technical audit will also consider whether your applications are performing as expected. Are API and UI response times within acceptable limits? Is your code managing memory allocation efficiently? Is there any risk of network time-outs, resource overloads or latency issues that prevent the application operating optimally?   

Data storage audit

A data storage audit will assess the balance between performance and cost, particularly in relation to databases. It will also confirm that your databases use best practice schema conventions and that all data is properly secured against theft and leakage.

Do we need to perform a software product technical audit?

Software technical audits provide valuable insights into your application portfolio. You can see where software is underperforming or where code could be optimised to reduce latency and resource usage.  You can prioritise future development to enhance security or to re-architect the application to be more portable, scalable or ready for migration to a hosted cloud service. 

As you plan and refine your IT strategy, a software technical audit can provide background information that will help you make more informed decisions that allow you to develop and extend software to reach your wider business goals. Best-in-class companies realise a range of benefits as a result of their audits, from faster, more accurate planning, to improved efficiency, to reduced costs and increased revenues.

So, do you really need to perform a software technical audit? Yes, absolutely. In fact, your business should be conducting audits regularly to ensure that you properly understand your operating environment – and where there are chances to improve performance or save money.

Find out more

To learn more about conducting a software product technical audit and how Eversoft can help you get the answers you need, please get in touch.