An independent read on the software you already have.
Starts at $3,500. Architecture, code, infrastructure, and security — assessed by senior engineers who’ve rescued, taken over, and rebuilt systems for 100+ companies. You get findings, a prioritized plan, and a fixed proposal for the next step. No obligation to take it.
Any of these, and you need a second opinion.
- You’re buying (or selling) a business with software you didn’t build.
- A project stalled — or the vendor went quiet — and you don’t know how bad it is.
- Growth is outrunning the system and every new feature costs more than the last.
- It was built by a freelancer, an offshore team, or an AI tool, and now it has to hold weight.
- You want AI or automation on top of it and nobody can tell you if the data underneath will bear it.
- Your biggest customer sent a security questionnaire and you don’t know how you’d answer.
Six things. Honestly.
Architecture
The full picture of how it’s built — diagrammed in one consistent notation, even if the originals are missing or wrong.
Code quality & maintainability
How hard it is to change safely. Where the duplication, the fragility, and the landmines are.
Security basics
Are the fundamentals in place — auth, secrets, data handling, dependencies — and what would a serious customer’s questionnaire turn up?
Infrastructure & delivery
Environments, backups, CI/CD, how a fix actually reaches users. Whether you could recover from a bad Tuesday.
Developer experience
How long it takes a new engineer to get productive. It predicts your cost of every future change.
User friction
Where the software is quietly costing your people time — the parts they route around.
With your help we gather what exists:
- Source code and its history
- Architecture or data diagrams
- Infrastructure and environments
- Documentation, tickets, roadmaps
- Conversations with the people who built or run it
Most systems don’t have all of this — or any of it beyond the code. That’s normal. We can give you a thorough read with what’s available.
Findings. Priorities. A number for what’s next.
Covers the assessment, the written findings, the prioritized plan, and the fixed proposal for the next step. The next step itself is a separate decision — yours.
Start a System EvaluationBuilt for existing systems. Not for blank pages.
A System Evaluation fits if
- Taking over a codebase from a departed developer, vendor, or freelancer
- A project that’s off track, over budget, or stalled
- An aging platform you’re deciding whether to modernize or replace
- Systems that don’t talk, and reporting nobody trusts
- A prototype or AI-generated app that has to become a production system
- Buy-side or sell-side technology diligence on a company with software assets
Start somewhere else if
- Nothing exists yet — that’s a Validation, Design & Planning (VDP) engagement
- You want one workflow automated on systems that already work — that’s AI Office
- You want someone to confirm a decision you’ve already made
New build? VDP. One workflow to automate? AI Office. Weighing whether to modernize at all? The modernization guide is a good hour of reading first.
Started with an evaluation. Ended with a plan.
An antiquated platform was costing them their biggest clients — so we rebuilt it
A third-generation credit insurance brokerage was losing the close to better-funded competitors. We replaced the antiquated system, and they kept their biggest clients.
A failed app rebuilt cross-platform — and abandoned users came back
TargetVision's Longshot lets long-range shooters see their hits in real time — no spotter required. After a failed vendor left them with an unstable app, we audited the code and rebuilt iOS and Android on one codebase, winning back users who'd abandoned the legacy product.
$24M in new revenue, untangled in two months
After an acquisition stalled on tangled systems and data, we untangled it fast — protecting $24M in new revenue in two months.
Partner, not vendor.
Everyone was so thrilled about having a modern system that’s easy to log into, and everyone was happy with the reporting. We almost didn’t have to do any training anymore because the system was intuitive.
I’ve worked with other software development firms in the past, but no one could ever get the job done. When we’re in a crunch, Frogslayer is my secret, go-to team.
Five steps, every time.
For an existing system, “Engage” means the evaluation first — then the fixed proposal that comes out of it.
- 01Discovery Call30–60 min
You tell us the problem in your words. We tell you straight whether — and where — we can help. No slides.
- 02Deep Dive60–90 min
The people closest to the problem, in one room (or one call). We get to the real constraint and the number that matters.
- 03Proposal & Paperworkdays, not weeks
Scope, price, and timeline in writing. A standard MSA and a short SOW — no 50-page lock-up.
- 04Prep & Kickoffweek 1
Access, environments, and a kickoff with everyone who touches the work. You know who’s on it and what ships first.
- 05Engageongoing
The work itself — visible every week, in your environment, with your people in the loop.
Straight answers.
How long does a System Evaluation take?
One to four weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the system and how quickly we get access to the code, the environments, and the people who know it. We set the duration with you before we start.
We don’t have the source code. Or documentation. Or the developer.
Common. Give us what you have — access to the running system, the database, whoever supports it — and we’ll build the picture from there. A missing artifact is a finding, not a blocker.
Will you tell us our current vendor is bad?
We’ll tell you what the code and the process show, with evidence. Sometimes that’s uncomfortable for a vendor; sometimes it vindicates them and points at the real problem. We don’t badmouth anyone to win work, and we’ll say when the team just needed a senior architect.
Is this the same as technology due diligence for an acquisition?
It’s the technical core of it. For a PE buy- or sell-side process — where you also need commercial context, team assessment, and a view on post-close investment — see Technology Due Diligence under Fractional CTO/CAIO. Same engineers, broader scope.
Is the fee fixed?
Yes — fixed and agreed before we start. The proposal for the next step is separate, with its own number, and you’re under no obligation to take it.
Isn’t this just a sales tool for the bigger project?
It’s priced to be worth it on its own, and some clients take the plan elsewhere or execute it in-house. We’d rather you make the next decision with real information than with a pitch.
Find out what you’re actually dealing with — before you spend.
Book a 30-minute intro. Tell us what the system does, who built it, and what’s keeping you up. We’ll tell you whether an evaluation is the right first move.