In this fourth episode of analyzing and describing why application modernization projects fail, we look specifically at the lack of new features or product enhancements as the cause of project failure. For a recap of our first three episodes, please visit our blog: https://aspeness.com/blog/.
In this episode, we are investigating how the lack of new features and/or application enhancements weigh in determining the success of an app modernization project. To be fair, an app modernization effort isn’t typically focused on new feature development or the release of enhancements to existing functionality. However, we have talked with too many business and IT executives that have questioned whether they should even embark on a lengthy, costly and potentially risky app modernization project if the effort won’t yield something tangible for users besides addressing technology obstacles. It’s not that app modernization projects fail due to the lack of new feature development, it’s that the project is often dead-on-arrival during the budgeting process if the project doesn’t advance the application for the business or end users.
We spoke with one IT executive that stated their app modernization project was budgeted for 16 months at a cost of $8 million and by the time the project was completed, the cost ballooned to $12 million and took 20 months to complete. What was worse, once the project was completed, the project and business teams had no desire to take on any additional work to enhance the application – the teams were burnt out on their “project from hell” that only ever addressed numerous technology debt challenges. Aspen is finding this to be the norm rather than the exception unfortunately. As legacy applications age, the level of effort and risk associated with app modernization projects increases when organizations use a traditional approach.
As a result, business executives are asking difficult questions during the scoping process of an app modernization project such as “How will this effort make our business more competitive or how will this project solve specific customer needs?”. Your app modernization project needs to not only resolve the technical debt challenges within your legacy application, but it must also deliver some additional, tangible value in the form of new features or enhancements. Often, app modernization efforts solve the technical debt problem and put the application in a position to advance but the organization needs to recover from the grueling process it just completed, which delays the tangible value to the business and users even longer.
Aspen Warp Drive Engine™
What if the app modernization team could move so fast that adding new features or enhancements to existing functionality could be undertaken DURING an app modernization project? The Aspen Warp Drive Engine™ is an automation tool that rapidly modernizes legacy applications in the best possible way. During this process, your new application is:
- Standardized (and therefore easier to further enhance and maintain), following both SOLID and DRY design and development principles.
- Fully tested (integration and unit tests are included) and hardened against existing cybersecurity threats.
- Developed with both secure REST and GraphQL APIs for all your UI or integration needs.
- Enabled with a complete starter React™ front-end and component library enabling rapid customization of the user interface over time.
- Delivered to whatever source code repository you choose with all the continuous integration / continuous deployment packages available when you want to deploy the application to your on-cloud or on-premises data center.
What about completing the project fast? Yes, the above process is usually completed in days, sometimes only hours! Because of this rapid speed, we can iterate and begin adding new features or minor enhancements during subsequent job runs if desired (we can complete hundreds of iterations in a week!). If you would like to learn more about our solutions, contact us at info@aspeness.com or visit our website at www.aspeness.com.
Todd Ingersoll
With over 20 years of experience serving multiple roles inside successful enterprise software and services organizations, Todd has been expressly interested in successfully overcoming app modernization challenges. His first-hand experience and dissatisfaction with the limitations and business impact of the traditional options of application modernization led him to create Aspen ESS. Aspen ESS was created to give organizations rapid, reliable, scalable, and extendable solutions to challenges with legacy software products and portfolios.
