Overview

Legacy software is commonly defined as outdated software that is still in use but on the road to obsolescence. Companies typically continue to use legacy software (whether outsourced or in-house developed) since it is critical to their daily function and due to perceived operational disruption during attempts to update systems.   

However, firms without a legacy software transition plan in place face the following risks that can only compound over time:

• Reduction of updates, support or maintenance from the software vendor, developer or creator.
• Dependency on obsolete and unreliable technology to keep systems running.
• Reliance on scarce and costly IT professionals with complex, largely outdated technology skill sets (such as COBOL programming expertise). 
• The need for new functional add-ons to quickly meet unanticipated needs that are typically cumbersome and degrade system performance.
• Over exposure to security threats with the inability to respond with modern cybersecurity measures.

Failure to address the above risks by refactoring existing platforms and choosing the right digital transformation partner, will only result in higher costs and downtime in the long run.  

About the Client

Superior Memorials has been involved in the production of monuments and associated services since 1924. They boast the largest showroom in Ontario and offer a full range of services from design to cutting, carving, polishing, sandblasting, monument restoration, delivery, and installation.

The company employs the latest digital technologies for monument design and customer service and owns the Gorde platform which it and other monument manufacturers can potentially use for efficiently managing operations and relationships with their clients. Focus21 was chosen by Superior to provide further development of this software.

Challenges

Growth Management

Superior was struggling to manage their rapid growth with their antiquated Gorde platform.

Untapped Revenue Opportunity

The Gorde platform’s current state was preventing its saleability to other monument companies, preventing additional revenue stream opportunities

Lack of Functionality and Poor Reliability

The software had not been updated for a considerable time and consequently, suffered from functional shortcomings and occasional glitches

‍Minimal Documentation

No documentation was available to explain the key principles of the software’s operation

Process

Discovery

During the discovery phase, the primary task for Focus21 specialists was to understand Superior Memorial’s operations, learn its business objectives, and plan the corresponding required work on the Gorde platform. 

Code Review and Establishment of Checkpoint Milestones 

Focus 21’s plan for updating the Gorde platform required deadline checkpoint dates for each of the established programming goals. The initial phase of this project took several weeks of research and involved updating and refactoring those portions of the code that would be retained, as well as removing any that were redundant or no longer relevant. 

Code Refinement and New Code Generation

Next, Focus 21 developers began refining the base code of the software while continuing to update other code segments.

QA/Final Release 

Focus 21’s Quality Assurance team identified bugs for the software developers to address  

Landing Page 

As part of the marketing effort, a single-landing page on the company’s website was created to promote Gorde.‍

Solution

Upon completion of the project, Superior Memorials received an optimized workflow platform with the essential innovations as specified in the development plan. To improve performance, the Ruby on Rails framework which powers the Gorde application was updated to the most recent version. In addition, many dependencies of the frontend component of the software were rewritten for an improved user experience.

The resulting platform expanded functionality and main workflows were adapted for standardized multi-user access. This enhancement enabled the sale of licenses to other companies in the monument business to create another profit stream for Superior. Report generation errors that hindered full use of the software in the past were also corrected.

In addition, the Focus21 team transitioned the platform's operation from Heroku services to AWS infrastructure to minimize the cost of regular software maintenance. Visually, the platform navigation became more efficient and user-friendly.

Work on the Gorde platform continues as Superior’s business expands and new functional needs arise.  ‍

Conclusion

Deciphering and modifying old, unfamiliar codes become more challenging the longer it is neglected. Since technologies evolve rapidly, introducing new features on an outdated foundation becomes increasing challenging and costly. Fortunately, Focus21 proved to have the experience and expertise necessary to solve this dilemma for Superior Monuments and the Gorde platform.

Another lesson learned with the Superior Monument case was the importance of having detailed documentation for reference when making code modifications to save development time and cost. In summary, while upgrading legacy software can be a painstaking process, finding the right partner such as Focus 21 that has no project complexity boundaries can make the process go as smoothly as possible, without negatively effecting current operations.