Codebase and architecture audit
We read the code, map the architecture, and score risk area by area. You get a written assessment of what is sound, what is fragile, and what should change first.
006Project Takeover
Take over a struggling project and get it shipping again
When the original team is gone, the vendor underdelivered, or the codebase has drifted into a state nobody wants to touch, we step in. Webisoft takes ownership of existing software, stabilizes it, and puts it back on a release cadence. Built for CTOs and founders who need a senior team to inherit code they did not write.
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What we do
What a project takeover includes
A takeover is more than reading the code. We rebuild the context around it: environments, documentation, priorities, and a plan you can hold us to.
Environment and access recovery
We reconstruct build pipelines, deploy scripts, credentials, and third party integrations so the project can actually be run, tested, and released again.
Stabilization and bug triage
Critical defects, crashes, and data issues get fixed before anything else. We triage the backlog against real user impact, not the order it was reported in.
Dependency and platform upgrades
Outdated frameworks, unpatched libraries, and end of life runtimes are brought current in controlled steps, with tests guarding each move.
Documentation and knowledge base
We document the system as we learn it: architecture notes, runbooks, and onboarding guides. The bus factor stops being one, or zero.
Feature delivery restart
Once the foundation holds, we return to the roadmap. New features ship on a predictable cadence with code review, testing, and release notes.
Our process
How a takeover works
(4)- 1
Assess
We audit the code, infrastructure, and open issues, then deliver a findings report with a ranked plan. You see the true state of the project before committing further.
- 2
Stabilize
We fix the defects that hurt users and revenue first, restore reliable builds and deploys, and add monitoring so regressions surface immediately.
- 3
Rebuild momentum
With the ground solid, we work through the roadmap in short cycles: refactoring where it pays off, upgrading where it is overdue, and shipping visible progress every sprint.
- 4
Own or hand back
We can keep running the product long term or transfer it to your internal team with full documentation and a structured handover. Either way, you keep the knowledge.
Why Webisoft
Why teams hand their projects to us
Inheriting someone else's code is a specific skill. It rewards experience, discipline, and honesty about trade offs, and that is how we work.
Senior engineers only
Takeovers are staffed with engineers who have shipped and maintained production systems for years. Reading unfamiliar code fast is part of the job, not a stretch.
No reflexive rewrite
Rewriting everything is the easy recommendation and usually the wrong one. We salvage what works, replace what does not, and justify each decision in writing.
Full cycle capability
Backend, frontend, infrastructure, and data all sit under one roof in our Montreal studio, so a takeover never stalls waiting on a missing specialty.
Transparent from day one
The audit report, the plan, and the progress against it are all yours. You always know what we found, what we are doing, and why.
FAQ
Project takeover questions
(4)- Yes, and it is the most common starting point for a takeover. Context can be recovered directly from the code, the infrastructure, and the people who use the product day to day. A proper takeover then produces the documentation that should have existed, so the knowledge is never trapped in one team again.
- Usually not. A full rewrite discards years of embedded business logic and stalls delivery while it happens, which is why most rewrites cost more than expected. A rewrite is only justified when an audit shows the existing code costs more to keep than to replace, and that conclusion should be backed by numbers, not frustration with the codebase.
- An initial audit typically takes one to three weeks depending on the size of the system. Critical fixes often start landing during the audit itself, since stabilizing the worst issues is part of learning the code. Full delivery velocity usually returns once the audit produces a prioritized backlog and the deployment pipeline is under control.
- Takeovers span the mainstream web, mobile, and backend stacks, including Python, JavaScript and TypeScript, PHP, and the major cloud platforms. Unusual stacks are not automatically disqualifying, but fit should be assessed honestly before committing. The harder constraint is usually the state of the infrastructure and deployment process, not the language.
Where we add value
What a project takeover actually fixes
Inheriting a codebase from another team or a departed developer is risky. Our takeover work targets the specific failure points that stall products: unknown code quality, missing knowledge, fragile deployments, and a backlog nobody trusts.
Codebase audit and risk map
Before we change anything, we read the code, run static analysis, and trace the critical paths that make you money. You get a written report ranking issues by business risk, not by cosmetic style complaints, so you can decide what to fix now and what can wait.Environment and deployment recovery
Many inherited projects can only be deployed by the person who left. We reconstruct build steps, pin dependency versions, containerize where it helps, and script the release process so any engineer can ship. This alone removes the single largest point of failure in most takeovers.Stabilization before features
We fix the crashes, memory leaks, and data integrity bugs that erode user trust before adding anything new. Error tracking with tools like Sentry goes in on day one, so we work from real production evidence instead of guesses about what is broken.Incremental refactoring, not rewrites
Full rewrites usually fail because the old system encodes years of business rules nobody documented. We refactor module by module behind tests, keeping the product shippable at every step. A rewrite is only recommended when the audit shows the foundation genuinely cannot carry the roadmap.Test coverage where it counts
Inherited projects rarely have useful tests. We add characterization tests around the behavior the business depends on, then unit and integration tests on the code we touch. Coverage grows where change happens, which is where regressions actually come from.Documentation and handover discipline
Everything we learn gets written down: architecture decisions, runbooks, onboarding notes, and a maintained README that matches reality. If you later hire an internal team, they inherit a documented system instead of another mystery, so the takeover problem does not repeat.
Our approach
How a takeover engagement runs
(4)- 1
Access and audit
Week one is about getting complete access: repositories, hosting, DNS, databases, third party accounts, and any credentials still tied to former developers. In parallel we audit the code and infrastructure and deliver a risk report with a recommended order of work, priced so you can approve it in stages. - 2
Stabilize and secure
We rotate exposed credentials, patch known vulnerable dependencies, set up monitoring and error tracking, and fix the defects causing active user pain. The goal of this phase is a system that is boring in production, with alerts that reach us before your customers notice a problem. - 3
Restore delivery speed
With the fires out, we rebuild the delivery pipeline: version control hygiene, automated tests on the critical paths, CI, and staged deployments. This is when feature work restarts, usually with a small, visible improvement shipped early to confirm the process works end to end. - 4
Roadmap and ongoing ownership
Once delivery is predictable, we plan the roadmap with you: which modules to refactor, which features to build, and what the realistic monthly pace looks like. Many clients keep us on as the long term team, others use us to prepare a clean handover to an internal hire. Both paths are supported.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask before a takeover
(6)- Yes, this is the most common starting point. We recover what we can from the code itself, hosting dashboards, and payment or analytics accounts, then reconstruct the rest by reading the code and testing behavior. The audit phase exists precisely to turn an undocumented system into a mapped one. Expect that phase to take longer when documentation is zero, but it does not block the takeover.
- The main drivers are codebase size, technology age, how much of the infrastructure is recoverable, and how urgent the production issues are. We split pricing into a fixed price audit first, then a stabilization estimate based on what the audit finds. That structure means you never commit a large budget to a codebase nobody has evaluated yet. Ongoing work after stabilization is typically a monthly retainer sized to your roadmap.
- Keep it, in most cases. A working system full of undocumented business rules is worth more than it looks, and rewrites routinely take two to three times longer than estimated while the old product stagnates. We recommend a rewrite only when the audit shows blockers you cannot refactor around, such as an abandoned framework with security issues or an architecture that fundamentally cannot meet your scale or compliance needs. When a rewrite is justified, we do it in slices with the old system running until each slice is replaced.
- First we inventory what you legally own and control: domain, code repository, hosting, app store accounts, and data. Where access is missing, we help you recover it through the providers, which is usually possible when the accounts were paid for by your company. We also check for hardcoded credentials or third party services registered under the developer's personal email, since those are the usual leverage points. The technical takeover proceeds in parallel so the dispute does not freeze your product.
- Yes. Mid-development takeovers need one extra decision early: whether the work in progress is worth completing as designed or should be descoped to reach a shippable version sooner. We assess the half built features against your goals and give you that call with honest estimates for each path. Everything else follows the same audit, stabilize, deliver sequence.
- We start with a call to understand the product and the urgency, then a short access checklist so we can begin the audit. For a typical web or mobile product the audit takes one to three weeks, and urgent production fixes can start during it rather than after. You will have a written risk report and a costed plan before committing to the larger engagement.
