5 Business Benefits of Software Re-engineering

Support and maintenance are important parts of each development lifecycle. Over time, every solution gets outdated and the business’ task is to prevent the problems that may occur. Regular system updates are essential to keep your user experience on a high level and remain competitive in the market. If you plan to modernize your product, keep on reading to clarify the main advantages and key steps of this complex process.

A closer look at software re-engineering

In essence, software reengineering is upgrading a solution or its migration to a more advanced platform. The features may remain the same or be enhanced depending on a certain product. The main objective is to improve or modify the existing solution to manage or reuse it as a new product.

Software re-engineering: 3 main stages

Now that we know what this process aims at, let’s get more insight into its main parts. Here are the processes the product undergoes during modernization.

1. Reverse engineering

Reverse engineering is the very first phase when a high-level solution needs improvement. In brief, this process is a detailed system analysis aimed at unraveling the product to the lowest layers. This process gives more insight into the system operation and It also helps understand the system processes better. Besides, developers analyze the security issues and vulnerability to hacking attacks or malware.

2. Restructuring

After defining the suitable specifications have been identified and the developers have determined the processes for improvement, the restructuring takes place. It includes product rearrangement and reconstruction. Ideally, the reengineering shouldn’t influence the existing features. The objective of restructuring is to eliminate or restructure the source code parts that may cause performance issues. Apart from this, removing obsolete code or system parts is also an essential process.

3. Forward engineering

The process ends with forward engineering. During this phase, the main process is integrating advanced specifications depending on the outcomes of reverse engineering and restructuring. Before the developer team moves on to this stage, it is vital to develop an exhaustive documentation set describing the desired state of the product and all the enhancements to be made.

There isn’t any universal model for re-engineering because the decisive criterion is the needs of a certain project.

Nevertheless, this development process should also be systematized and needs a detailed investigation in advance.

Software re-engineering benefits for your business

By upgrading your software product, you reduce the effort on constant solving issues. An enhanced product can help your business grow and provide a better customer experience. A future-proof solution is going to boost your business operation with its advantages:

• Cost optimization. An optimized solution significantly cuts the maintenance and support costs. An error-free solution optimizes the developers’ time and resources. Its seamless performance boosts user experience which results in excellent business reputation and higher income.
• Risk reduction. If compared with software development from scratch, this is a more suitable option for existing products. Creating a completely new product is far more demanding not only when it comes to costs. The risks of failing are also considerably higher.
• Seamless performance. Refactored code works considerably faster, which is favorable for any product. The quicker the system response is the more space for extension and improving the features the team gets.
• Extended capabilities. Modernization enables adapting to the constantly changing market trends and user preferences. The product becomes more scalable and introducing new functionality is more effortless.
• Support. If you choose a reliable developer team, they not only handle a complex re-engineering process but also offer further product support that includes updating and improvements. The process of re-engineering should be regular and based on the system's performance.

How much does software re-engineering cost?

The cost of modernization is more affordable than building a new solution from scratch. You need to evaluate the costs of each product individually. In some situations when the life duration is short, re-engineering is not worth it. Modernization is necessary when the analysis shows that the maintenance expenses of existing products outweigh the cost of re-engineering. Depending on the unique requirements and needs, the costs may be higher than expected. However, businesses should realize that functionality and performance advantages will pay off in the long run.

Wrapping up

In a progressive world, software products have to be scalable and flexible to keep the users satisfied and engaged for a long time. Solutions are getting more and more complex to meet high user requirements. However, elaborate systems require constant maintenance and improvements. Underestimating these essential processes becomes a pitfall for many businesses that lose clients because of their software issues. modernizing your product eliminates all the technical issues, extends software capabilities, and helps the product fit all the new business requirements perfectly.

Looking for an experienced software re-engineering team?

If you are looking forsoftware re-engineering and migration services, you can always get in touch with IT Hoot team. Our experienced developers will analyze your product, define the main issues and offer the most suitable technical solutions. With over 12-year expertise in software development and re-engineering, we always make our customer requirements a priority. Contact us and we will transform your product into an advanced solution with high-level performance.