A company depends on a piece of software. The person or agency who built it has moved on. It still works, mostly, and nobody is sure how. This is one of the most common situations we are asked into, and the first step is always a review, not a rewrite.
What we establish first
- Where everything lives. Which servers, which databases, which accounts, and who can sign in to them.
- Whether the code is under version control, and whether what is running matches what is stored.
- How it is deployed. A documented process, or files copied by hand.
- What it depends on. Outside services, and software components that have reached the end of their support.
- Whether it is backed up, and whether anyone has restored it.
- What is written down. Often only a few scattered notes.
What the review produces
A short document: how the system is put together, the risks in order of seriousness, and a recommendation. Sometimes the recommendation is to leave it alone and add backups and monitoring. Sometimes it is to move it to a sounder platform. Occasionally it is to replace it.
Why not just rewrite it?
A rewrite is tempting and usually wrong as a first move. The existing system contains years of decisions about how your business works, most of them undocumented. Steadying it first is cheaper, and it teaches you what a replacement would have to do.
Protect yourself next time
- Own the accounts: hosting, domain names and code repository should be in the company’s name.
- Require version control and a written deployment process.
- Ask for a handover document before the final invoice is paid.
Related service: Programming & API integrations.