# Tech DD Lite framework · Rodan Practice
PE tech due diligence practice brief: criteria, discovery questions and scoring rubric for portfolio company tech and data readiness.
RODAN-275 · 276 · 277 · PE gateway

# Tech DD Lite

   2-week data and technology assessment of a single portfolio company. Scored report plus costed remediation options. Target fee: £2k light / £3k full.

## Scored criteria (12)

- **Systems register completeness** - inventory of applications holding material operational or financial data

- **Source of truth clarity** - whether board metrics have a single authoritative system

- **Data quality for board KPIs** - sampling of revenue, margin, cohort or equivalent metrics

- **Metric definitions** - documented definitions and EBITDA/adjustment lineage

- **Integration / export reliability** - APIs, warehouses, spreadsheet bridges

- **Access control & MFA** - named users, leavers process, shared admin risk

- **Key-person dependency** - who alone can run reporting or critical systems

- **Vendor & licence posture** - material SaaS, open-source copyleft exposure

- **Security hygiene** - backups, secrets handling, recent incidents

- **Privacy / DPA readiness** - processors, consent debt, Article 30 readiness

- **Reporting latency** - time from period close to usable board pack

- **AI / analytics readiness** - whether foundations would carry insight or automation work

## Scoring rubric

   Each criterion: **1** critical gap · **2** weak · **3** adequate · **4** strong · **5** investment-grade. Overall band = mean score.

- **1.0–2.4** Red - value creation or exit at material risk from data/tech

- **2.5–3.4** Amber - workable with focused remediation in 100-day plan

- **3.5–5.0** Green - foundation supports hold-period analytics and cleaner exit DD

   PE benchmark note: mid-market portcos commonly land Amber on metrics 3–5 and Red on 6–7 until post-deal hygiene.

## Discovery question bank (portco management)

### Finance / ops

- Which system is authoritative for revenue recognition this month?

- How are board KPIs produced today (owner, tools, manual steps)?

- Where do EBITDA adjustments live, and can a third party reproduce them?

### Technology

- List systems that would stop trading or reporting if unavailable for 48 hours

- Who has production admin access, and how are leavers handled?

- What is backed up, tested, and recoverable in under 24 hours?

### Data & privacy

- Do you maintain a current systems register and processor list?

- Where does customer personal data sit, and which vendors process it?

- Have you had a security or privacy incident in the last 24 months?

### People

- If your reporting lead left tomorrow, what breaks in the first week?

- Which processes exist only in one person's head or personal spreadsheet?

## Costed proposal append (Light / Full)

   Append to the scored report. Indicative packaging, not a formal quote.

- **Light (£2k)** - scored criteria, interview notes, top risks, 100-day sketch, no deep systems sampling

- **Full (£3k)** - Light plus evidence sampling on board KPIs, access review, privacy/DPA spot-check, costed remediation options with effort bands

- **Next engagement** - typical follow-on is data plumbing / board pack / Quantsole path (£50k avg class work), scoped from the Lite findings

## Sales brief (one page)

   **Opener:** Your portfolio companies are producing board reports that are weeks stale by the time an operating partner reads them.

   **Offer:** A fixed-fee 2-week Tech DD Lite on one portco: 12 scored criteria, management discovery, Red/Amber/Green band, and costed remediation options.

   **Buyer:** PE Operating Partner or portco CFO. **Fee:** £2k light / £3k full.

   **Not this:** the public self-score on guides. That orients. This is the paid engagement that produces a board-ready scored report.

   **Public entry:** [Tech DD Readiness Score](/tools/tech-dd) · [question bank](/resources/tech-dd-question-bank) · [PE page](/for/pe)

   **Next step:** book diagnostic · hello@rodan.io

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