What You Get
A methodical framework for evaluating a legacy system and reaching a clear decision about its future: maintain it as-is, modernise it incrementally, or replace it entirely. This template takes a decision that often stalls in ambiguity and breaks it down into assessable criteria with a structured scoring approach.
The template is designed for business stakeholders, not just technical teams. It covers technical health, business risk, operational cost, and strategic alignment. The decision to replace a legacy system is a business decision, not just a technical one.
What Is Inside
- System inventory section: a structured format for documenting what the legacy system does, who uses it, what it connects to, and what data it holds
- Technical health assessment: criteria for evaluating the codebase, infrastructure, security posture, performance, and maintainability
- Business risk assessment: a framework for identifying and scoring risks such as vendor dependency, single points of failure, compliance gaps, and knowledge concentration
- Operational cost analysis: prompts for calculating the true cost of maintaining the system, including direct costs, opportunity costs, and hidden costs like workarounds
- Integration mapping: a template for documenting every system the legacy platform connects with and what would need to change in each scenario
- Data audit: questions about data quality, completeness, portability, and what migration to a new system would involve
- Stakeholder impact assessment: a framework for identifying who is affected by each scenario and what their concerns are
- Decision matrix: a weighted scoring model that takes the assessment inputs and produces a clear recommendation (maintain, modernise, or replace)
- Migration risk assessment: if replacement is recommended, a framework for evaluating the risks and planning the transition
- Executive summary template: a one-page format for presenting the audit findings and recommendation to decision-makers
Who This Is For
This template is for business leaders and IT managers responsible for legacy systems that are becoming a concern, whether that concern is cost, risk, capability limitations, or all three. It is also useful for consultants and agencies conducting system audits for their clients.
How to Use This
Start with the system inventory. Document what the system does and who depends on it. Then work through each assessment section, scoring the system against the criteria provided. The template includes guidance for each score level so you are not guessing.
Once all sections are complete, the decision matrix aggregates the scores into a recommendation. This does not replace judgement, but it gives you a structured basis for the decision rather than relying on gut feel or the loudest voice in the room.
Involve both technical and business stakeholders in completing the template. The technical team knows the system’s health; the business team knows its strategic importance. You need both perspectives for a sound decision.
Why We Made This
We work with legacy systems regularly: maintaining them, modernising them, and replacing them. The biggest mistake we see is businesses either holding onto a system too long (because replacement feels risky) or replacing one too hastily (because they underestimated how embedded it is). This template helps you assess the situation honestly and make a decision you can defend. Our legacy modernisation service is there if the assessment points to a system that needs attention.
Get the Template
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For a deeper walkthrough of the decision process, see How to Assess If Your Legacy System Needs Replacing. More templates and downloads are available in the Resources section.
