The Transformation Project

 

It's a company with a big .NET monolith that stores all the company data. It needs dismantling so that we can develop software faster. The project has been ongoing for years and frustrations have reached a new peak. It must be done now.

It's not a unique situation. Actually, it's textbook. Legacy migrations methods are well documented. I've done them before and I've read the books.

So why am I struggling to think clearly about this one.

I'm James, ex developer come startup CTO. I'm now a newly crowned Architect for the largest company I've ever worked for. I've been given the long running and seemingly sisyphys-worthy legacy migration project to own.

Problem: The company has high growth ambitions and investment to match. Software development cost is high and speed of delivery is low. Scaling up in it's current form won't work. 

Cause: It's too complicated to keep building on top of the current system. Too many dependencies. Too many non-standard implementations. Not enough understanding. Too many breakages with change. I think.

Solution: Well...is it the legacy migration? If it is, why has it taken so long?

I'm about to find out in short order. 

I have 3 weeks to create a plan. Tomorrow is my day 7 on the project.