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Legacy Software
Re-engineering Services

Legacy software re-engineering stands as a less risky approach to software rebuilding, but this option still requires thorough preparation and planning. Engineers take a legacy application as a basis to build an up-to-date solution with an identical or even better feature-set. It will seem just the same by functionality, but look and feel like a brand-new modern solution. The process of re-engineering legacy software requires the translation of the source code into another programming language, the reorganization of a database or its transfer, the optimization of software architecture, the addition of new features, and the integration of third-party APIs.

NEW FEATURES

DATABASE

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

THIRD-PARTY APIS

SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE

WHAT YOU GET?

Migration to the Modern Technology
Saving and Enhancing Your Solution Value
Eliminating Issues Connected with Weak Architecture
Resolving Defects, Failures and Performance Limits

Reengineering

You need software re-engineering services if:

000

THE SOLUTION YOU HAVE IS NOT QUALITATIVE ENOUGH

001

There are drastic changes in technology or company’s business processes

010

The lack of the technology vendor support takes place

011

There is a technology that better matches the business

What’s Inside the Software Re-engineering Process

Step 01

Inventory analysis

This is an identification of re-engineering legacy systems candidates among active software apps using business criticality, longevity, current maintainability, and other local criteria.

Step 02

Document restructuring

To save the essence of your current application, we fill the gaps of old documentation and rewrite the documentation for crucial parts.

Step 03

Reverse engineering

This stage includes program analysis to recover its design and represents it at an abstraction level higher than a source code.

Step 04

Code restructuring

After we have understood the main principles and models used in the app structure in terms of software re-engineering services that became outdated, all violations in the source code can be noted, repaired, reviewed, and tested.

Step 05

Data restructuring

Performing data restructuring means dissecting the current architecture in order to define data process model and review data structures.

Step 06

Forward engineering

At this stage of providing application re-engineering services, we recover design information from existing source code and reconstitute the existing system to improve the quality and performance.

01 Inventory analysis
02 Document restructuring
03 Reverse engineering
04 Code restructuring
05 Data restructuring
06 Forward engineering

I DON’T KNOW WHETHER MY SYSTEM SHOULD BE
RE-ENGINEERED OR NOT?

Even though re-engineering legacy systems is a relatively low-risk approach to software modernization, it requires solid development efforts and expertise. Before making any decisions and updating the legacy system, estimate the potential business and technical perspectives of your brand-new software.

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Application Re-engineering Services We Provide

Except for the complete software re-engineering, our team deals with specific application re-engineering services and requests.

Code Refactoring

Code refactoring in re-engineering legacy systems involves improving the internal structure of existingcode without changing its external behavior. By identifying problematic areas in code and making incremental changes, refactoring brings higher quality code that is easier to maintain and extend.

UI/UX Modernization

Redesigning the interface to be more intuitive, visually appealing, and responsive, and updating the user experience are key concepts in going through software re-engineering services. As user behavior evolves, legacy apps always lack modern UI/UX solutions. In turn, UI/UX modernization enhances user satisfaction, engagement, and overall product usability.

Re-documentation

Documentation is another pain point in outdated software systems, as it is usually incomplete or scattered across the organization. Re-documentation in application re-engineering services helps to create clear, consistent, and up-to-date documentation that aids developers and owners in understanding and maintaining the software. This service is the best way to clarify complex concepts, and add missing details.

Database Re-engineering

Re-engineering legacy systems in databases involves redesigning schemas, improving query efficiency, normalizing data, and migrating to more advanced database systems if needed. The goal is to ensure data integrity, reduce redundancy, and improve access speed for better data management and application performance.

Functional and Technical Upgrades

Legacy systems are heavy and complex to such an extent that it’s difficult to insert any features or third-party integrations. Re-engineering legacy systems can help to get the hang of things, break the system into understandable parts, and expand the functionality without disrupting existing processes and features.

Intelligence Integration and Modernization

We move with the times and help our valuable clients to do the same. Incorporating advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) into existing systems helps to analyze large datasets, make predictive analyses, and automate decision-making. In this case, software re-engineering services involves updating algorithms, integrating with modern data sources, and deploying AI/ML models to improve operational efficiency.

General Model for Re-engineering Legacy Systems

Let’s try to understand what is hidden under the re-engineering in software engineering concept using simple words. We have a legacy system in use with its four constituents: the concept, requirements, design, and implementation.

Using the reverse engineering method, the development team analyzes the new solution, including documentation and source code to extract the requirements it was built by and reveal the concept of the app.

After that, we can re-think the existing system concept in accordance with current business circumstances and form new requirements for a target system design and implementation.

The most difficult stage is completed and now we can re-engineer legacy software systems using forward engineering method. When the target system is ready, your provider checks whether the new system matches an old one by functionality quality.

Reverse Engineering (Abstract)

conceptual

Requirements

design

Implementation

Existing System

Alteration

Re-think

Re-specify

Re-design

Re-code

Compare Functionality
quality

Forward Engineering (Refinement)

Conceptual

Requirements

Design

Implementation

Target system

Legacy System Modernization Case Studies for Software Re-engineering Services

All Cases

Re-engineering
of the Large
Management Platform

Re-engineering the Healthcare Reputation Management Platform to Eliminate Unnecessary Expenses

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Re-engineering of the Large Management Platform

ModLogix
Insight

All articles

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Legacy Software Re-engineering: Risks and Mitigations

Re-engineering is a go-to approach to modernize outdated code. How does if differ from other modernization approaches? Read this post!

How to Use
Application Re-engineering Services in a Particular Case?

From case to case re-engineering legacy systems differs depending on:

The state of your current system
The documentation availability
The consistency of its previous implementation

That’s why the methodology for this approach can be chosen using the scheme shown on the figure below. As you can see, we can avoid the complex reverse engineering stage if your current system implementation was consistent.

START

IS A DESIGN MODEL AVAILABLE

YES

IS A DESIGN MODEL AVAILABLE

YES

Restructure

REVERSE
ENGINEER

perform modification(s) as a forward engineering activity

FINISH

A piece of advice

This is one more argument to carefully choose a legacy modernization company who can not only make the system work, but implement it in a technically correct manner. It’s like building a house — if you have any problems in the foundation, it can cause many issues when you try to rebuild it.

FAQ on Re-engineering Legacy Systems

What is application re-engineering?

Application re-engineering is the process of updating existing software systems to improve their functionality, performance, and maintainability. In particular, software re-engineering services may involve enhancement of the software architecture, migration to newer technologies, code optimization, or integration with modern tools and platforms. The scope always depends on the software specifics.

What are the categories of re-engineering?

Re-engineering typically falls into several categories: software re-architecting and structurization, code refactoring, database re-engineering, technical software upgrades from unsupported frameworks to the modern analogues, UI/UX enhancements, and Re-documentation. Those are the main categories which may also fall into subtypes.

What is the main objective of re-engineering?

The prime goal of re-engineering legacy systems is to increase application’s productivity and value, extend its lifespan, improve user experience, and ensure the software meets current and future business needs.

How does software re-engineering help business in practice?

Software re-engineering updates and transforms existing software to enhance performance, functionality, and maintainability. This allows businesses to work smarter and more effectively, improving revenue and optimizing resources.

Updated software drastically increases productivity and supports business growth, which is impossible with outdated systems.