Tools for better software decisions
Turn a vague project into a defined one. Every tool is ungated, every result is shareable, and every model is documented. No account, no sales call, no email required.
Build-Ready Scope Grader
Most projects do not fail in code. They fail in the decisions that were never made. Score readiness across nine dimensions, see the cost of scope ambiguity, and get a planning range and five-year TCO — without giving up your email.
- 0–100 readiness score
- Cost of ambiguity
- Planning range + 5-year TCO
- The decisions blocking the build
Also live
A second ungated assessment for teams evaluating a vendor.
Vendor Maturity Scorecard
Score a software vendor relationship across commercial, delivery, architecture, and governance risk. See the weakest areas before they become change requests.
In development
The next tools in the suite. They are listed here so you know what is coming, not to pad the page with dead links.
Cost / TCO Estimator
Model build cost, maintenance, infrastructure, and the five-year total for a defined scope.
Build vs Buy
Compare a custom build against a bought platform on total cost, time to value, lock-in, and control.
Technical Due Diligence Self-Audit
Score architecture, delivery, security, and team risk before an investment or acquisition.
Release-Readiness Gate
Check the evidence a release should have before it reaches production: tests, rollback, observability, and support.
AI Production-Readiness
Assess whether an AI feature has the evaluation, guardrails, human review, and operating model it needs.
Need one of these now? Tell us what decision you are trying to make — the next tool is chosen from real demand.
How these tools are built
The same standard we apply to software: explicit inputs, documented rules, and a result you can inspect.
The full result is visible before you decide whether to share an email address. Gating the output would make the tool worse, not better.
Every answer is encoded in the link. The report can be continued on another device, shared with a teammate, or printed as a PDF. No account is involved.
Scoring and estimation are explicit rules, not a hidden AI or a lead-score black box. The methodology is on each tool page, with the version number.
Completed assessments are stored without names, emails, IP addresses, or free text. The aggregate dataset is public at dataset.json.
Questions
Are the tools really free? +
Yes. The full result is visible without an email address. There is no paywall, no account, and no sales call. If you want the result emailed to you, you can provide an address, but it is optional.
Why are there no email gates? +
Because a gated result is a worse product. You should be able to see the output before deciding whether it is useful. The tools are designed to earn a conversation, not to trap one.
Can I share or continue a result later? +
Yes. The assessment state is encoded in the URL, so the same link restores the same result on any device. You can change an answer, share the link with a teammate, or print it as a PDF. The URL never contains your name or email address.
How are the tools built? +
They are deterministic models with documented methodology. Each one uses published market benchmarks and explicit scoring rules, not hidden AI or a lead-score black box. The anonymized aggregate data is published as JSON so anyone can inspect it.
Related reading
Read before you score yourself
The tools give you a number. These pieces explain the decisions behind the questions.
- Build vs Buy Software: 2026 Decision Framework Should you build custom software or buy an existing solution? A complete decision framework with cost analysis, trade-offs, and a worked example. Read
- Custom Software Development: The Complete Guide Custom software development matches technology to your business processes. Learn when to build, what it costs, and how to choose a partner. Read
- Technical Due Diligence Checklist A practical technical due diligence checklist for investors, acquirers, and boards: architecture, code, security, delivery, team, cost, and risk. Read
Need a decision, not a tool?
Tell us what you are trying to decide. We will tell you whether a conversation is the right next step — or whether the tool is enough.