New clubs, new course?

Two of the most valuable assets in a legacy system are the depth of understanding of the domain (the applications and their files, behaviors and quirks) and the mastery of skills using the associated tools that have accrued to their practitioners over time.

Loss of this knowledge and these skills are also two of the most underestimated costs of converting to a new system. Often, the level of skill needed to complete the transition cannot be attained within the time frame allowed for the conversion. That means that some of the problems and issues encountered during the implementation of the new system will be only partially solved, or not at all.

Consider the golfer who, with his old clubs and on his home course, can play at or close to par. Acquiring new clubs can present a short term setback. Time is required to accustom oneself to the idiosyncrasies of new ‘tools’, their weight, balance and action.

Consider further the golfer who is invited to play at a new, unfamiliar and difficult course. Should he take his old clubs or his new ones? Does he prefer to impress with his equipment or with his game?

If he believes his playmates will be impressed with what’s in his bag, and he doesn’t mind shooting 92, he should take the new clubs.  But if his game matters (and in business, it certainly should), then his old clubs may serve better. He can always make an excuse about the old clubs (the new ones are in the shop being polished), but is unlikely to get away with blaming a poor performance (as might any poor workman) on his new tools.

Legacy tools, and any trailing edge technologies, retain their value because of the seasoned professional hands in which they find themselves. The leader who insists that the new course be charted using only new tools increases the degree of difficulty of the task at hand, and hampers those charged with its completion. He also places his resources in the difficult position of having to use old tools surreptitiously.

An unenlightened leader may go as far as to characterize legacy tools as crutches, and their use as a symptom of fear or unwillingness to change.  The tactical developer (as well as the enlightened leader) is more concerned with performance than appearance, and knows well that chances of success improve dramatically when he undertakes a mission with both old and new tools at his disposal.

In the transition to a new system, the value of legacy domain expertise may be lost, but the skills in the use of legacy tools can serve deep into post-production, and can even be the ‘secret’ weapon that helps pave the way to success. Of course, this is no secret to the tactical developer.