I modernise long-lived software platforms incrementally, combining architecture with hands-on delivery. The existing system keeps running until the replacement has earned its place.
When feature work and stability no longer coexist
Long-lived platforms can reach the point where feature work and stability can no longer coexist. I start with a map of the system as it actually is, then identify a sequence of changes that can be measured in production.
How the work proceeds
The map becomes a sequenced change plan. The existing platform remains authoritative while replacement capability is isolated, tested, and measured for parity. Architecture done at a distance from the code drifts into fiction, so I stay close to implementation and document open questions rather than papering them over.
Evidence for the next decision
The starting point is not an assumption that everything must be rewritten. The useful outputs are a current-system map, a sequence of measurable changes, explicit open questions, and the production evidence used to judge parity. Each proven step creates evidence for the next decision.
Relevant work
A fifteen-year-old .NET platform serving two hundred practice sites was migrated onto Azure one clinical workflow at a time. The first tenant cut over inside six months with no unplanned downtime. The in-house team now runs the migration cadence without me.
Working with the team
I work independently, usually embedded with an in-house team. The architecture, implementation sequence, and evidence stay with the team. The measure of an engagement is what the team can do after it ends.
Based in Tauranga
I am an independent solution architect and senior developer based in Tauranga, New Zealand.