PRISM™: Technology Due Diligence Framework

CCA's proprietary technology due diligence framework. It scores five dimensions 0–100 and prices every finding as a CapEx requirement, an EBITDA drag, or an exit multiple implication. The output is built to inform price and deal terms.

PRISM is used in diligence before close; CLEAR™ runs the company through the hold.

The Five Dimensions

Letter	Dimension	The Business Question	Role
P	Portfolio Fit	Can tech support the investment thesis?	Gate
R	Risk Quantification	What tech risks create financial exposure?	Price
I	Infrastructure & Engineering	Can the platform scale?	Foundation
S	Strategic Data Assets	Can the data create value?	Upside
M	Management & Execution	Can this team deliver the thesis?	Multiplier

The I vs. S Distinction

I: Can the platform scale? Foundation question: engineering and infrastructure. A failing I score means CapEx: servers to buy, engineers to hire, systems to rebuild.

S: Can the data create value? Upside question: AI, data assets, monetization. A strong S score points to enterprise value the company has not yet captured.

These dimensions ask different questions and put different money at stake, so each needs a different operator.

Score Thresholds

Score	Interpretation	Implication
80–100	Technology Strength	Value creation focus
60–79	Technology Ready	Targeted remediation
40–59	Technology Risk	Priced remediation required
20–39	Technology Liability	Deal terms adjust
0–19	Technology Deal Risk	Re-price or pass

Every finding maps to one of four buckets: Gate (stops the deal), Price (negotiated into offer), Thesis (changes what the deal is supposed to do), or Lever (becomes part of the 100-day plan).

The PRISM Technology Readiness Scorecard gives a first estimate of where a target company falls. It scores the same five dimensions in about ten minutes and returns one of the five bands above.

Key Outputs

• PRISM Score: 0–100 composite, weighted by thesis
• Engineering Health Score: I dimension, 0–100 across 4 sub-dimensions (Architecture & Scalability, Cloud/Infrastructure & COGS Reality, SDLC & Engineering Practice, Technical Debt)
• AI Readiness Index: S dimension, 0–100 across 4 gates (Data Trust, Model & Agent Governance, Operational Integration, Value Realization), a diligence-grade summary of the Enterprise AI Control Plane's pillars
• Financial Exposure Summary: CapEx, EBITDA drag, 3-year cost of inaction
• 100-Day Plan Input: remediation priorities and quick wins
• CLEAR™ Framework Handoff: diligence becomes the post-close operating playbook

The Tech Debt Cost Calculator prices the Technical Debt sub-dimension under I on its own, returning an annual cost and a five-year cost of inaction.

To see what one of these deliverables reads like (findings bucketed, priced, and dated, with a confidence level on each), read a page from a sample PRISM memo.

PRISM™ → CLEAR™ Mapping

PRISM Dimension	CLEAR™ Phase	What Transfers
P: Portfolio Fit	Clarify	Thesis alignment confirmed
R: Risk Quantification	Realize	Priced risk converted to verified exit value
I: Infrastructure & Engineering	Leverage + Execute	Platform scaled
S: Strategic Data Assets	Accelerate	AI deployed, data monetized
M: Management & Execution	Execute	Team deployed, 100-day plan runs

What a PRISM Review Covers

1. Product and roadmap
2. Engineering execution and velocity
3. Architecture and platform
4. AI/data maturity
5. Security and trust (cyber posture)
6. Cloud, tooling, and cost
7. Team and operating rhythm
8. Board/executive communication

Engagement

A PRISM review runs 3–4 weeks: document review, stakeholder interviews (CEO, CTO/VP Engineering, CISO, product lead, 1–2 key engineers), written deliverable with executive summary, and readout. Output is board-ready: 2–3 pages of executive summary plus a 100-day technology roadmap the operating team can execute on day one.

PRISM feeds directly into CLEAR™. The diligence findings become the post-close playbook that the operating team works from.