“Kill it with fire,” the typical first reaction to a legacy system falling into obsolescence, is a knee-jerk approach that often burns through tons of money and time only to result in a less efficient solution. This book offers a far more forgiving modernization framework, laying out smart value-add strategies and proven techniques that work equally well for ancient systems and brand-new ones.
Renowned for restoring some of the world’s oldest, messiest computer networks to operational excellence, software engineering expert Marianne Bellotti distills key lessons and insights from her …
“Kill it with fire,” the typical first reaction to a legacy system falling into obsolescence, is a knee-jerk approach that often burns through tons of money and time only to result in a less efficient solution. This book offers a far more forgiving modernization framework, laying out smart value-add strategies and proven techniques that work equally well for ancient systems and brand-new ones.
Renowned for restoring some of the world’s oldest, messiest computer networks to operational excellence, software engineering expert Marianne Bellotti distills key lessons and insights from her experience into practical, research-backed guidance to help you determine when and how to modernize. With witty, engaging prose, Bellotti explains why new doesn’t always mean better, weaving in illuminating case studies and anecdotes from her work in the field.
You’ll learn:
Where to focus your maintenance efforts for maximum impact and value
How to pick the right modernization solutions for your specific needs and keep your plans on track
How to assess whether your migrations will add value before you invest in them
What to consider before moving data to the cloud
How to determine when a project is finished
Packed with resources, exercises, and flexible frameworks for organizations of all ages and sizes, Kill It with Fire will give you a vested interest in your technology’s future.
Author Bio
Marianne Bellotti has worked as a software engineer for over 15 years. She built data infrastructure for the United Nations to help humanitarian organizations share crisis data worldwide and tackled some of the oldest and most complicated computer systems in the world as part of United States Digital Service. At Auth0 she ran Platform Services, a portfolio that included shared services, untrusted code execution, and developer tools. Currently she runs Identity and Access Control at Rebellion Defense. She can be found on most social networks under the handle bellmar.
Table of contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Time Is a Flat Circle
Chapter 2: Cannibal Code
Chapter 3: Evaluating Your Architecture
Chapter 4: Why Is It Hard?
Chapter 5: Building and Protecting Momentum
Chapter 6: Coming in Midstream
Chapter 7:Design as Destiny
Chapter 8: Breaking Changes
Chapter 9: How to Finish
Chapter 10: Future-Proofing Conclusion
Kill It With Fire is a good book about legacy software modernization. It has many practical advice, examples, and suggestions. I think it is missing something, but I am unsure what. I would have liked it to go more in-depth, more in practice, and more in the software part. Instead, as Bellotti says, the modernization of legacy systems is a people challenge, not a software challenge. You need to manage people, manage expectations, and keep up the momentum and the morale of the developers and managers.
