A Guide on How to Create an Application Modernization Roadmap

Research shows that the application modernization services will grow up to $32.8 billion by 2027. Isn’t it gesturing to the popularity of application modernization? Of course, it is! As time goes by, an app gets obsolete, and modernization becomes the need of the hour.

Can you even imagine troubleshooting the current business needs with a legacy application that has outgrown your business needs? If you do it, you may have to come across consequences. That’s why businesses move towards application modernization.

Modernizing an application adds new features and functionalities to the system resulting in enhanced performance. But, companies remain in conflict with the dos and don’ts of software migration. That’s why we have come up with a detailed guide on how to create an application modernization roadmap.

Let’s dig deeper!

What’s Application Modernization Roadmap?

A roadmap to application modernization is a well-organized amalgamation of the key steps and information associated with an application modernization procedure. A modernization roadmap must consist of the key information about your project, for instance, schedule, milestones, events, dependencies, timeframe, and so on.

On the other hand, a roadmap to legacy application modernization isn’t a product roadmap that should contain far more technical requirements, steps, and details. Like we are often puzzled between software upgrades and updates, one should never confuse an app modernization roadmap with a project plan or a product roadmap. Getting confused among them can lead to ending up with a dense roadmap that’s tough to comprehend.

One should start sketching a detailed modernization plan with a visual roadmap. It assists businesses in making sure that they have set realistic expectations for the existing application and the would-be version of the same. A roadmap to software modernization is of utmost importance when it comes to defining success metrics of app modernization that enable your business to assess the effectiveness of the modernization procedure.

Importance of Application Modernization Roadmap?

An application modernization roadmap provides stakeholders and every team member with a detailed and crystal-clear understanding of the goals and how they contribute to the project’s success. A roadmap is created at the outset of the modernization project delivering a clear and unified picture for all stakeholders.

Organizations build an app modernization roadmap to cement a coherent product vision, set their specific objective, and organize a way to execution. Furthermore, a roadmap for application modernization is to create predictability and stability in keeping team members from wandering in between the project development phase.

Although a roadmap doesn’t get into the technical details involved with a project, it establishes the project scope, manifests goals, and prioritizes crucial steps for the team members. A modernization roadmap is a visual document that acts as a signpost for the team, reminding them of their core objectives, goals, and critical processes. A roadmap streamlines the communication among team members enabling them to understand the direction of the project.

6 Steps to Create an Effective Roadmap to Application Modernization

We knew what’s the application modernization roadmap and what’s the purpose of creating one. Now is the time to come to our key purpose and explore the all significant 6 steps to create an app modernization roadmap for your legacy system modernization initiative.

Assess Your Current Infrastructure

A proper assessment of your current infrastructure and considering the factors of modernization are the top steps in creating a roadmap to modernize applications or your legacy application. You might be confused about what to assess, right? Look at the pointers mentioned below to get a clear picture of what to analyze.

Once you explore these all, your software development partner will comprehensively explore your existing architecture and plan the creation of an app modernization roadmap. As your software development team plans the further modernization plan based on your analysis, you need to do it well before your developers build your legacy codebase.

Understand Your Business, Technical Needs, and Competencies

Before you think about migrating your existing application to modern infrastructure, accumulate necessary information from every department regarding the software being used there. Analyzing those existing systems with all the key stakeholders is of utmost significance. Examine your business, its technical needs, and other competencies thoroughly so that you can add whatever required to add.

Ultimately, your roadmap to modernize applications should be able to exhibit what’s working and what requires improvements– as without a clear understanding of the challenges you deal with, it’s almost impossible to prioritize them and prepare an effective app modernization roadmap. So do it properly.

Design Your Application Modernization Plan

The next step to creating an application modernization roadmap is designing a modernization plan. It means reviewing your current availability and requirements, determining the outcomes you need, and deciding how to employ the resources based on your budget and timeframe. You need to explore refactoring vs rewriting or weather it is lift and shift that you need priortize. Here are some of the approaches to application modernization you can choose from.

Rebuilding

Rebuilding is one of the app modernization approaches that involve a complete replacement of an existing software system from the get-go. Explain how each component will work for hand in hand when you map out an app rebuild.

Refactoring

Refactoring is another approach toward app modernization called legacy software refactoring that consists of altering your software system without changing the underlying code. This very approach results in an enhanced internal structure and troubleshoots the issues without needing to complete rebuilding.

Encapsulation

The next one is Encapsulation which is crucial for legacy application modernization projects. It’s another kind of application modernization approach that makes changes to the interface of your legacy software system while reusing the fundamental components of the existing infrastructure. It creates a new access layer and removes the legacy code sections to do so. APIs connect the legacy code elements to a new access layer.

Replatforming

As the name suggests, Replatforming consists of migrating a multitude of components of a given app to a new platform. It typically involves a few changes in existing codes; however, the code remains as it is. Replatforming is a better way to go for those who don’t want to enact an entire rebuild.

Develop Your Legacy Application

Once you are done with the design, you need to turn the design into code. You can have a legacy software migration partner who will create a team to work on the project. The point that you need to note is “the features and functionalities.” Make sure all features and functionalities are properly implemented in the modern system. And migrating data to new systems is carried out carefully.

Plan for Risk Management

Modernizing a legacy application is of utmost importance, which assists you in staying more agile and efficient. But, as everything has double aspects, application modernization, too, has some drawbacks, which are a challenge to manage. Let’s see how to plan risk management for your application modernization.

Identify Your Risks

In order to mitigate the risks, you, first of all, need to determine what they are. Consider working with your IT team to point out all the possible threats that can possibly occur in between the application modernization process. Also, don’t forget to include both technical issues (for instance, data loss or system downtime) and business concerns (for instance, damage to the reputation of the company).

Accetain How Each Risk Will Get Mitigated

The first step is to identify all feasible risks associated with software modernization. Once you’ve identified risks, you should look for the way through which all will be addressed if any one of them occurs in between the application modernization.

For example, when there’s any possibility of downtime during the app migration process, develop a contingency plan that outlines the way how your workforce will still be able to get access to the systems when they are down (using mobile apps or email).

Employ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to Gauge Success

Now that you’ve understood every procedure, it’s time to know how to measure the project’s success. For this to be possible in a hassle-free manner, you better implement Key Performance Indicators Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) that will indicate the way you’re growing.

This system will address security, speed, cost-efficiency, and uptime vs. downtime. Moreover, KPIs can also determine customer satisfaction (CSAT) and other customer success metrics that relate to specific features within customer-facing applications.

Conclusion:

No organization can run and perform seamlessly while being embedded with a legacy system, especially when the needs have outgrown the very application. However, modernizing a legacy system is of prominent importance; having a well-created application modernization roadmap would be icing on the cake, easing the process and making it way more fruitful for you.

We as a top-rated custom software development company offering reliable software, including desktop migration services to clients worldwide. We have a battle-tested and vetted team of experts who help you with all your needs, from converting your legacy system to newer platforms to providing migration consultation. You can connect with us and understand more about us, such as who we are and what we do.

In order to create an excellent roadmap to app modernization, you need to clearly define your objectives, project’s vision, and goals to form a less complex effective app modernization roadmap as we’ve suggested every step needed to create an efficacious roadmap to enable you to do it with ease and convenience. Take a look at the FAQs below to enhance your knowledge.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s an application modernization roadmap?

An application modernization roadmap is a way to transforming legacy applications into modern systems. It helps you determine what is essential that needs to be done, when it should be done, along with the time it takes to occur.

What Services fall under legacy app modernization?

Modernization of your existing applications into new system go through a process, comprising an intensive assessment of the existing system, creating a comprehensive modernization strategy, designing, development, and quality assurance testing.

What are the differences between app development and modernization?

Software development consists of processes like designing and creating specific software products. App modernization, on the other hand, involves a strategic approach to renovate a legacy infrastructure and improve it in a way that aligns with the current needs, and is supportive of an organization its operations, and fulfills customers’ requirements.

What should be a crucial factor in initiating app modernization?

Assessing an application for all dos and don’ts relating to its requirements should be the first step to initiating an app modernization procedure. This is the very first step from where you know every tiny detail about your software, along with what it is capable of and what’s required to be improved.

What are the recommended steps to plan an application modernization roadmap?

Below mentioned are the recommended steps to plan out a roadmap for app modernization.

• Determining the key business drivers.
• Determining the timeline for implementation.
• Deciding the approach needs to be followed.
• Also, define the success as well as failure criteria for the project.
• Create a robust plan to implement.