Strategic reengineering of software: Lifecycle approach

Software systems must be constantly upgraded to be in tune with an evolving business environment. Due to the inefficiency of current maintenance methods, many of the old programs do not meet current strategic needs. Common goals for reengineering software have been to improve maintainability of programs and to convert programs into a newer computer, database, or language. A framework for strategic reengineering in which target systems are substantially redesigned in order to meet a company's strategic goals is described. Strategic reengineering is much like redevelopment, accelerated by reuse of information that is extracted from existing, still viable, programs. The impact of a company's strategic plans on software reengineering is discussed, and lifecycle phases of strategic reengineering with CASE are described.