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Four Clusters in Legacy System Assessment

publish date: 2026/06/24 21:07:15.964576 UTC

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When plotting business value against system quality for a portfolio of legacy systems, four clusters emerge. Match each cluster to the recommended action.

To complete the line match

  1. Click on an item in the first group
  2. Click on the match in the second group

To delete a match, double click on a line

Cluster

Low quality, low business value
Low quality, high business value
High quality, high business value
High quality, low business value

Recommended action

Reengineer or possibly replace these systems since they are important but costly to maintain
Scrap these systems since they are expensive to keep with low return
Continue normal maintenance since high quality avoids the need for transformation
Continue normal maintenance unless expensive changes are needed, in which case scrap

Correct Answer

(1) Low quality, low business value,Scrap these systems since they are expensive to keep with low return
(2) Low quality, high business value,Reengineer or possibly replace these systems since they are important but costly to maintain
(3) High quality, low business value,Continue normal maintenance unless expensive changes are needed, in which case scrap
(4) High quality, high business value,Continue normal maintenance since high quality avoids the need for transformation

Explanation

The four clusters and their recommendations are: low quality/low value systems should be scrapped; low quality/high value systems should be reengineered or replaced since they matter to the business but are costly; high quality/low value systems can continue with normal maintenance unless expensive changes arise; and high quality/high value systems should continue with normal maintenance since high quality avoids the need for transformation.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

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