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Is it possible to modernise critical legacy systems whilst maintaining business as usual? This was the theme of a recent techUK panel event where Codurance’s COO Steve Lydford took to the stage to share his wealth of experience alongside other panellists from the public and private sectors.
Its now sadly well-documented that around 70% of digital transformations fail1 and there are myriad reasons why this is the case, from a lack of skills and misalignment between the business and technology to issues around appetite to risk and overwhelming technical debt.
Below we summarise the key findings from the panel outlining strategies that can be adopted to mitigate against the risks and put your software modernisation journey on the right path for success.
1McKinsey, 2022 Report
Focus on core practices and skills
Legacy systems often contain old tech, sometimes millions of lines of code written by multiple developers over many years, poor documentation and poorly designed architecture that is outdated and makes changing or building features difficult or even impossible and prohibitively expensive.
Legacy modernisation requires a different skill set compared to greenfield projects where its much easier to start well from a blank sheet. Core practices aligned to Software Craftsmanship such as eXtreme Programming, refactoring, CI/CD and automated testing are essential.
It's important to establish a culture of testing and maintaining code from the start of software modernisation. Adopting these practices into your teams can be time-consuming at the start as old habits are undone and new ones are learned; but over time the extra effort will pay off as your teams work smarter, delivering greater value faster and systems become easier to change.
Old is not necessarily bad
There is a perception in the industry that ‘old’ equals ‘bad’; anything legacy should always be replaced by modern cloud-based systems. For example within the UK government, there is a ‘cloud-first’ mandate, which some believe is not always the best approach, since some legacy systems are not critical to the business and could happily operate in the background or be retired without any major impact.
Moreover, without modernising applications, moving to the cloud could mean simply moving the same legacy problems to a new environment - and sometimes can exacerbate issues and send cost spiralling.
Before undertaking any modernisation therefore, it is important to undertake some pragmatic due diligence and ask some key questions such as:
Understanding the answers to these questions and the dependencies involved will allow you to make risk-based prioritised decisions.
Fail fast, learn and adjust
In the private sector, there is more acceptance of failure. It is always beneficial to run experiments and learn from it to de-risk for the next cycle. Getting fast feedback and embedding a culture of continuous learning and improvement is key to software modernisation; without the ability to try new things, fail and adjust, it can become impossible for teams to find the right solutions.
In the public sector, this culture of experimentation can be harder to deliver since every penny spent is the public’s money; there are many examples of failed UK government IT projects and a laser focus on governance. This has made some public sector departments risk averse to avoid public embarrassment when things go wrong.
A way for public sector bodies to address these issues however is by following best practices set out by the CDDO in their digital & data roadmap to help drive innovation and learn from the private sector.
With the right initial momentum in place it allows teams to take off well and accelerate their software modernisation efforts.
Improvement must be continuous and aligned to the business
For modernisation to succeed, there must be a department-wide strategy across the entire business. Improvement is not something that ‘starts’ and ‘ends’; instead it is a continuous approach where anyone that touches the system should leave it in a slightly better state than before. Over time, quality improves, knowledge distribution improves, software becomes easier to change and aligns to the business.
It is critical as a technology leader to be able to articulate the business value of any legacy modernisation initiative - engaging with the C-Suite early and creating clear communication on the ROI will ensure C-Suite buy-in and a greater chance of success.
In summary, legacy modernisation demands a strategic and tailored approach, clear communication of business value, and a culture that embraces learning, experimentation and innovation. By embracing these principles, organisations can navigate the complexities of legacy systems and pave the way for a future where business and technology work together to deliver accelerated performance.
Doing things well now really will pay dividends down the road!
Discover our roud up of the Modernising Critical Legacy Systems whille maintaining operational intergity event here.
Building the Smarter State is techUK’s flagship public services conference for public sector digital leaders. 2024 marks the tenth anniversary of this hugely influential conference, where we will focus on the most pressing and important topics for public sector digital transformation.
Head of Central Government Programme, techUK
Heather is Head of Central Government Programme at techUK, working to represent the supplier community of tech products and services to Central Government.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
Programme Manager, Central Government, techUK
Ellie joined techUK in March 2018 as a Programme Assistant to the Public Sector team and now works as a Programme Manager for the Central Government Programme.
The programme represents the supplier community of technology products and services in Central Government – in summary working to make Government a more informed buyer, increasing supplier visibility in order to improve their chances of supplying to Government Departments, and fostering better engagement between the public sector and industry. To find out more about what we do, how we do this and how you can get involved – make sure to get in touch!
Prior to joining techUK, Ellie completed Sixth Form in June 2015 and went on to work in Waitrose, moved on swiftly to walking dogs and finally, got an office job working for a small local business in North London, where she lives with her family and their two Bengal cats Kai and Nova.
When she isn’t working Ellie likes to spend time with her family and friends, her cats, and enjoys volunteering for diabetes charities. She has a keen interest in writing, escaping with a good book and expanding her knowledge watching far too many quiz shows!
Programme Manager, Central Government, techUK
Austin joined techUK’s Central Government team in March 2024 to launch a workstream within Education and EdTech.
With a career spanning technology, policy, media, events and comms, Austin has worked with technology communities, as well as policy leaders and practitioners in Education, Central and Local Government and the NHS.
Cutting his teeth working for Skills Matter, London’s developer community hub, Austin then moved to GovNet Communications where he launched Blockchain Live and the Cyber Security and Data Protection Summit. For the last 3 years he has worked with leaders in Education across the state and independent schools sectors, from primary up to higher education, with a strong research interest in technology and education management.
Team Assistant, Markets, techUK
Ella joined techUK in November 2023 as a Markets Team Assistant, supporting the Justice and Emergency Services, Central Government and Financial Services Programmes.
Before joining the team, she was working at the Magistrates' Courts in legal administration and graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2022. Ella attained an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in International Relations and Security Studies, with a particular interest in studying asylum rights and gendered violence.
In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym, watching true crime documentaries, travelling, and making her best attempts to become a better cook.
Programme Manager, Cyber Security and Central Government, techUK
Annie joined techUK as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023. In this role, she supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector.
Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.
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Head of Marketing and Partnerships, Codurance