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Any approach that assumes otherwise is starting from a false premise."}] 18:["$","h2","21",{"id":"replacing-in-stages","className":"scroll-mt-28 pt-8 text-2xl sm:text-3xl","children":"Replacing in stages"}] 19:["$","p","22",{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.75] text-steel","children":"The alternative is to let the new system take over one function at a time while the old one keeps running — commonly called the strangler pattern, because the new system gradually surrounds the old one until nothing is left inside."}] 1a:["$","ol","23",{"className":"space-y-3.5","children":[["$","li","Assess: read the code and the database, watch how it is used, and document what it actually does — including the behaviour nobody wrote down.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-4","children":[["$","span",null,{"className":"label-mono mt-1 shrink-0 text-signal","children":"01"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Assess: read the code and the database, watch how it is used, and document what it actually does — including the behaviour nobody wrote down."}]]}],["$","li","Choose a first slice: a self-contained function with a clear boundary. 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Reporting is often a good candidate because it is read-only and low risk."}]]}],["$","li","Build and integrate: the new module reads from or writes to the legacy database or files, so both systems stay consistent while the old one is still in use.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-4","children":[["$","span",null,{"className":"label-mono mt-1 shrink-0 text-signal","children":"03"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Build and integrate: the new module reads from or writes to the legacy database or files, so both systems stay consistent while the old one is still in use."}]]}],["$","li","Move users across for that function only, and keep the ability to fall back.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-4","children":[["$","span",null,{"className":"label-mono mt-1 shrink-0 text-signal","children":"04"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Move users across for that function only, and keep the ability to fall back."}]]}],["$","li","Repeat, taking a larger slice each time as confidence and understanding grow.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-4","children":[["$","span",null,{"className":"label-mono mt-1 shrink-0 text-signal","children":"05"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Repeat, taking a larger slice each time as confidence and understanding grow."}]]}],["$","li","Retire the legacy system once it has nothing left to do.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-4","children":[["$","span",null,{"className":"label-mono mt-1 shrink-0 text-signal","children":"06"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Retire the legacy system once it has nothing left to do."}]]}]]}] 1b:["$","p","24",{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.75] text-steel","children":"Each slice is small enough to reverse. That property is what makes the approach safe, and it is worth the additional integration effort it requires."}] 1c:["$","h2","25",{"id":"making-the-case-internally","className":"scroll-mt-28 pt-8 text-2xl sm:text-3xl","children":"Making the case internally"}] 1d:["$","p","26",{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.75] text-steel","children":"Modernisation is hard to justify because the system still works. The case that tends to succeed has three parts, none of which is about technology."}] 1e:["$","ul","27",{"className":"space-y-2.5","children":[["$","li","Risk: what a failure would cost per day, and how long recovery would take today.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-3.5","children":[["$","span",null,{"aria-hidden":true,"className":"mt-2.5 size-1 shrink-0 bg-signal"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Risk: what a failure would cost per day, and how long recovery would take today."}]]}],["$","li","Constraint: the specific commercial things you cannot do — integrate a sales channel, automate a process, let staff work remotely.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-3.5","children":[["$","span",null,{"aria-hidden":true,"className":"mt-2.5 size-1 shrink-0 bg-signal"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Constraint: the specific commercial things you cannot do — integrate a sales channel, automate a process, let staff work remotely."}]]}],["$","li","Drag: the recurring cost of the workarounds that exist only because the system cannot do something.",{"className":"flex items-start gap-3.5","children":[["$","span",null,{"aria-hidden":true,"className":"mt-2.5 size-1 shrink-0 bg-signal"}],["$","span",null,{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.7] text-steel","children":"Drag: the recurring cost of the workarounds that exist only because the system cannot do something."}]]}]]}] 1f:["$","p","28",{"className":"text-[1.0625rem] leading-[1.75] text-steel","children":"Presented that way, the decision stops being an IT preference and becomes an ordinary business one — which is what it always was."}] 20:["$","aside",null,{"className":"order-first lg:order-last","children":["$","nav",null,{"aria-labelledby":"toc-heading","className":"lg:sticky lg:top-28 border-l border-edge pl-5","children":[["$","p",null,{"id":"toc-heading","className":"label-mono text-slate","children":"On this page"}],["$","ol",null,{"className":"mt-4 space-y-2.5","children":[["$","li","The signals that matter",{"children":["$","a",null,{"href":"#the-signals-that-matter","className":"text-sm leading-snug text-steel transition-colors hover:text-signal","children":"The signals that matter"}]}],["$","li","Four options, not one",{"children":["$","a",null,{"href":"#four-options-not-one","className":"text-sm leading-snug text-steel transition-colors hover:text-signal","children":"Four options, not one"}]}],["$","li","Why big-bang replacements fail",{"children":["$","a",null,{"href":"#why-big-bang-replacements-fail","className":"text-sm leading-snug text-steel transition-colors hover:text-signal","children":"Why big-bang replacements fail"}]}],["$","li","Replacing in stages",{"children":["$","a",null,{"href":"#replacing-in-stages","className":"text-sm leading-snug text-steel transition-colors hover:text-signal","children":"Replacing in stages"}]}],["$","li","Making the case internally",{"children":["$","a",null,{"href":"#making-the-case-internally","className":"text-sm leading-snug text-steel transition-colors hover:text-signal","children":"Making the case internally"}]}]]}]]}]}] 23:null 9:300 9:C 11:0 b:"$undefined" d:"$undefined" 10:"$undefined" 8:"$undefined"