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Legacy Modernization - Staffing Strategy

You have the long sought approval and hard earned budgeted capital to modernize or replace an existing legacy system for your organization.  Now comes the hard part!  Where is the best place to start? How will you continue to maintain the legacy system as you rewrite it?   How will you train existing staff in the new technology during the transition?

Using a stepped approach to transitioning existing full-time staff into the new technology along with a compliment of hand-picked consulting resources may go far in gaining maximum ROI on your legacy modernization effort.  The formula QAT has seen work incorporates a combination of existing staff, legacy consultants, and new technology consultants.  Partner with a company that is able to provide you with both quality consultants that have the skills required to maintain the existing legacy system and the new technology you will be moving to.

Start by bringing a Legacy Consultant on board.  You will want to allow 3-6 weeks transition time for them to learn applicable business knowledge. Once the Legacy Consultant is gaining momentum, it’s time to transition one of your full-time staff members to the new technology platform.

The next step is to provide just-in-time training for the full-time staff member who will be on the New Technology Team. This training should be as close as possible to your placement of a New Technology Consultant on the project, since new skills perish if they are not utilized immediately.   The full-time staff member, who now has a foundation in the new technology, will transfer business knowledge to the New Technology Consultant.   At the same time, the New Technology Consultant will serve as a mentor to the full-time staff member who is learning the new technology the organization is utilizing.

The above approach will allow your New Technology Consultant to focus on the technology portion of the legacy modernization project, which is why you hired the consultant, versus learning your business rules.   Learning business rules and knowledge takes time away from development the Consultant is there to provide. 

Depending on the scope of your legacy modernization project, you can continue to repeat the backfill in the legacy applications with Legacy Technology-based Consultants.   Over time, your Legacy Consultants will gain a repository of business knowledge so newly added that they will have resources to draw on for business rules and knowledge.

The approach outlined will enable you to train and transition your existing staff and bridge your business knowledge between both your staff and consultants as you move fulltime staff to the new project.

Remember, while training existing fulltime staff in the new technology is one of the keys to legacy modernization success, the primary factor lies in selecting the right partner to lead you through the process.  QA Technologies is leading provider of innovative legacy modernization solutions supported by project-basis, contract-to-hire, and fixed-term staffing solutions. To learn more, please call Chuck Snyder at 800-799-8545 / 402-391-9200.

For more information, please visit http://www.qat.com/ms_legacy.asp.

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