A decision making tool for the selection of service oriented-based legacy systems modernization strategies

Abstract

In this article, we present a process and tool that facilitates the decision making process of selecting an appropriate migration strategy for legacy software systems using the Service Oriented Architecture. Issues related to legacy system migration were initially discussed, followed by two famous techniques namely the Service-Oriented Migration and Reuse Technique of the Department of Defense, as well as that of Erradi. A hybrid process was then introduced, and a tool following the process was illustrated. The tool takes into consideration choosing key migrating evaluation factors, rating the relative importance of such factors, inputting the organizational significance of each factor, as well as operating on individual system components.