Kill It with Fire

“Kill it with fire,” the typical first reaction to a legacy system falling into obsolescence, is a knee-jerk approach that often burns through tons of money and time only to result in a less efficient solution. This book offers a far more forgiving modernization framework, laying out smart value-add strategies and proven techniques that work equally well for ancient systems and brand-new ones.

Renowned for restoring some of the world’s oldest, messiest computer networks to operational excellence, software engineering expert Marianne Bellotti distills key lessons and insights from her experience into practical, research-backed guidance to help you determine when and how to modernize. With witty, engaging prose, Bellotti explains why new doesn’t always mean better, weaving in illuminating case studies and anecdotes from her work in the field.

You’ll learn:

• Where to focus your maintenance efforts for maximum impact and value
• How to pick the right modernization solutions for your specific needs and keep your plans on track
• How to assess whether your migrations will add value before you invest in them
• What to consider before moving data to the cloud
• How to determine when a project is finished

Packed with resources, exercises, and flexible frameworks for organizations of all ages and sizes, Kill It with Fire will give you a vested interest in your technology’s future.

Author Bio

Marianne Bellotti has worked as a software engineer for over 15 years. She built data infrastructure for the United Nations to help humanitarian organizations share crisis data worldwide and tackled some of the oldest and most complicated computer systems in the world as part of United States Digital Service. At Auth0 she ran Platform Services, a portfolio that included shared services, untrusted code execution, and developer tools. Currently she runs Identity and Access Control at Rebellion Defense. She can be found on most social networks under the handle bellmar.

Table of contents

Introduction Chapter 1: Time Is a Flat Circle Chapter 2: Cannibal Code Chapter 3: Evaluating Your Architecture Chapter 4: Why Is It Hard? Chapter 5: Building and Protecting Momentum Chapter 6: Coming in Midstream Chapter 7:Design as Destiny Chapter 8: Breaking Changes Chapter 9: How to Finish Chapter 10: Future-Proofing Conclusion