Abstract
Research in legacy system modernization has traditionally focused on its technical challenges, and
takes the standpoint that legacy systems are obsolete systems, yet they are crucial for an
organization's operation. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether practitioners in the industry also
share this perception. This paper describes the outcome of an exploratory study in which 26
practitioners from the industry are interviewed on what makes a software system a legacy system,
what the main drivers are leading to the modernization of such systems, and what challenges are
faced during the modernization process. The findings of the interviews have been validated by
means of a survey with 198 respondents. As it turns out, practitioners value their legacy systems
highly, the challenges they face are not just technical, but also include business and organizational
aspects.
takes the standpoint that legacy systems are obsolete systems, yet they are crucial for an
organization's operation. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether practitioners in the industry also
share this perception. This paper describes the outcome of an exploratory study in which 26
practitioners from the industry are interviewed on what makes a software system a legacy system,
what the main drivers are leading to the modernization of such systems, and what challenges are
faced during the modernization process. The findings of the interviews have been validated by
means of a survey with 198 respondents. As it turns out, practitioners value their legacy systems
highly, the challenges they face are not just technical, but also include business and organizational
aspects.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Utrecht |
| Publisher | UU BETA ICS Departement Informatica |
| Number of pages | 48 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Publication series
| Name | Technical Report Series |
|---|---|
| Publisher | UU Beta ICS Departement Informatica |
| No. | UU-CS-2014-004 |
| ISSN (Print) | 0924-3275 |