Software evaluation of the

Acquisition

Due diligence of software engineering completes the whole picture of the acquisition object and strengthens the buyer's knowledge and argumentation.

Development Due Diligence

The software audit we recommend if you plan to acquire a product or company.

The Development Due Diligence module appeals mostly to companies that want to purchase an existing software product (and possibly also acquire the company that produces it) in order to market and resell the software.
In this case, an exact audit of the software components plays an important role in addition to the financial and legal due diligence. The following points are the main focus in Development Due Diligence:

  • Software development process
  • Programming policy and guidelines
  • Source code quality
  • Documentation
  • Management and policies

Together with the experts from HanseEscrow, the buyer chooses which items are to be included. We then present you with an offer that meets your individual needs.

 

Standard Escrow Verification

  • generation of object code
  • installation
  • smoketest

Secure Escrow Verification

  • review of documentation (samples thereof)
  • source code review (samples thereof)
  • audit process (deviation analysis)

 

Plus-Package Process

  • assessment (subset of SPICE)

Plus-Package Source Code

  • tool-supported source code evaluation
  • traceability evaluation
  • programming guidelines evaluation

Additional Evaluations

  • test concept

Customer Feedback

The neutral evaluation of the LeuTek assets was very important to us. Therefore, we insisted on an audit by a neutral third party. When LeuTek showed they were not worried about the prospect of technical due diligence by an escrow agency we were quite optimistic. HanseEscrow’s expertise in combination with that of TÜV IT was excellent in addition to financial due diligence and a good basis upon which to make our decisions.

Bernhard Oberschmidt, USU Software AG

Software and Documentation

Evaluation of

  • Product specifications, white papers
  • Standard agreements (licenses, maintenance, terms and conditions)
  • Manuals and other product documentation

The evaluation criteria include conformance, completeness, understandability and document structures.

Software Development, Management, Policy, Know-How

Examination of individual steps in processes:

  • Change management
  • Software development
  • Quality assurance
  • Distribution logistics
  • Management integration
  • etc.

Guidelines

Examination of key documents:

  • Technical product documentation
  • Programming guidelines
  • Process specifications
  • QM manuals

Evaluation criteria include conformance, completeness, understandability and document structure.

Source Code Quality

Selection of code samples and volume based on:

  • Complexity
  • Known risks and weaknesses
  • Owner’s willingness to disclose

Code excerpts are described, classified, and audited for conformance to guidelines.

The final documentation covers all the results of the assessment.