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Use Case - Choosing a Legacy System Strategy

publish date: 2026/06/24 21:38:14.414662 UTC

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A retail company has an order-fulfillment system that is heavily used every day and generates outputs critical to warehouse operations. A technical audit finds that the code is poorly structured, documentation is largely missing, and the original developers have all left the company, but no suitable off-the-shelf replacement exists yet. Which strategic option is most appropriate given these facts?

Replace the system immediately using a generic accounting package unrelated to fulfillment

Scrap the system immediately with no replacement plan

Reengineer the system to improve maintainability while preserving its current functionality

Leave the system completely unchanged forever with no further investment of any kind

Correct Answer

Reengineer the system to improve maintainability while preserving its current functionality

Explanation

This is a classic low-quality, high-business-value scenario. The system is heavily used and critical (high value) but poorly structured and undocumented (low quality). Since no suitable off-the-shelf replacement exists, reengineering is the appropriate strategy: it preserves the working functionality while improving structure and maintainability, avoiding both the disruption of scrapping a needed system and the cost and risk of an unsuitable replacement.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

Quizzes you can take where this question appears

Software Evolution - Use Case Scenarios