Testing Assessment
Most teams using AI tools have more tests than ever and less idea what those tests prove. Coverage numbers keep climbing while bugs still reach production, and every generated spec makes CI a little slower and more expensive. Throwing more parallel workers at the build won't answer the real question: are your tests checking the things that matter?
The Testing Assessment is a fixed-price review of your test suite, your testing strategy, and the CI pipeline that runs it. I'll tell you what your tests protect you from and what they don't, including which ones are eating CI time without ever catching anything. Then we go through it together so your team knows what to do next.
Who needs a testing assessment?
A testing assessment will help you if:
- You have a lot of tests and no idea which ones matter
- AI tools wrote a big chunk of your suite and nobody has checked what those tests actually assert
- Bugs keep reaching production that your tests should have caught
- CI is slow and expensive, and every attempt to fix it so far has been a configuration tweak
- Developers re-run failing builds until they pass, and nobody trusts a red build anymore
- You're about to invest more in testing and want to know where that effort should go
What's included
Kickoff call
We talk through your application, how your team tests today, what's been going wrong, and what you want to get out of the assessment.
Assessment
I go through your test suite, the application code it's supposed to protect, and your CI configuration and build history. I look at what's tested and what isn't, which tests are slow or flaky and why, which ones aren't verifying anything useful, and what all of it costs you in time and CI minutes.
Report and review call
You get a prioritized written report with my recommendations and the reasoning behind each one. We review it together on a call so your team understands the priorities and can ask questions before deciding what to tackle.
What you'll get
- A clear picture of what your tests cover and, more importantly, what they miss
- The testing strategy I'd adopt for your app and team, with the trade-offs explained
- Which tests to fix, which to delete, and which ones you still need to write
- Where your CI time and money are going to waste, and what to change first
- A prioritized plan your team can act on without needing me
Want help putting the plan into practice? I can help implement the fixes as a short follow-up engagement, or stay involved on an ongoing basis as your fractional tech lead.
Pricing
Includes the written report and a review call with your team. Typical turnaround is two weeks, and the price doesn't change once we start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the assessment take?
Typically two weeks from kickoff to the review call. Very large codebases can take a little longer, and I'll tell you before we start if that's the case.
Why a fixed price?
Because you should know what this costs before you commit to it. I've done enough of these to scope them reliably. If your codebase turns out to be far outside what we discussed on the kickoff call, I'll tell you before doing any extra work.
Will you fix the problems or just report them?
The assessment is the diagnosis: a clear plan with the reasoning behind it. Implementation is a separate engagement, either a short project to tackle the top priorities or ongoing work as your fractional tech lead. Plenty of teams take the report and handle the work themselves.
Do you look at our CI pipeline too?
Yes. Slow and flaky builds are usually a symptom of the test suite, so I look at both together. Shaving a few minutes off a build is nice, but I care more about whether the time and money you spend on CI goes toward tests that catch real problems.
What if our tests are mostly fine?
Then you'll know that for sure, which is worth having when you're deciding where to spend engineering time. You'll still get a report with the improvements I'd make, and the kickoff call sets expectations so there are no surprises.
What stacks do you work with?
I've spent most of my career on Ruby on Rails apps, so that's where I go deepest. The strategy side applies to most web applications, so if you're on something else, bring it up on the call and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm a good fit.
Ready to find out what your tests are actually telling you?
Book a free consultation so we can talk through how your team tests today and whether an assessment makes sense.
Request a Free Consultation