Update of old apps

[Simon Smith]

What Mark said is spot on.

Personally I don't like working on something that is out of date / legacy
code and would quote the client on everything that would need to be done.
If the client can't afford the costs of redeveloping and it's possible to
work on the existing application while still being profitable, I would do
the updates, while at the same time stressing that if they are wanting to
do future updates they will have to strongly consider all your suggested
updated.

If on the other hand if you would have no choice but to redevelop, being
open with clients and explaining all the associated costs and the benefits
of redevelopment costs usually works wonders. If the client refuses to
accept the costs, I would probably  turn down the job (unless of course
there was a good reason to keep the client happy). The stress of having to
work under such circumstances is never worth it, especially if the clients
derives all the benifits and you get little in return.

Good luck
Simon



On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 6:14 PM, Mark Talluto <userev at canelasoftware.com>
wrote:

> On Jul 16, 2014, at 5:41 AM, jbv at souslelogo.com wrote:
>
> > ok I get it, thanks for the advice...
> > But still my main worry is rather about aging code that could be
> > replaced by new LC features that would save time & energy in
> > future updates/maintenance...
> > I am not going to clutter the list about it, but I'm really wondering
> > about that.
> >
> > Best,
> > jbv
>
>
> I think this is very on topic.  The answer may differ depending from
> contracting projects to products/services one sells broadly to more than
> one end user.
>
> If this is a contract situation, I would contact the companies you work
> with and actively offer upgrades to their software.  I would know
> everything possible about their industry and provide strong points that
> would interest them in hiring you to update their software package.  You
> might even look into a yearly support option for clients that use your
> software in mission critical environments.  Casual users of your software
> will not desire this though.
>
> If a client calls and requests something new, I would call that a billable
> item.  If they find a bug in your software you have the option to generate
> good will and fix it for free or offer them a reasonable rate to fix the
> issue if you think it warrants charging.
>
> I don’t there there are hard rules here. You have to gauge each situation
> individually.  Considering the long term value of your decision is helpful
> in determining whether to charge or not.  I hope this helps a bit with your
> decision.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Mark Talluto
> CanelaSoftware.com
> LiveCloud.io
>
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