Worked example
Situation
A regional supplier runs an old Delphi desktop system with a local database. It works, but remote access is awkward, integrations are limited and emailed orders are retyped. Stopping the business for a rewrite is not an option, and the documentation is incomplete.
What changes
First an inventory of business rules and test cases. Then a new web module for order intake and an integration layer next to the running system. AI extracts order lines from emails and attachments. Functions move gradually to a supported stack; the language follows from the project’s constraints.
Where people stay in control
A person confirms the match with the catalogue. Backward compatibility, data reconciliation and rollback are mandatory, and AI-assisted code goes through normal review and tests. If integration does not pay off, the answer is a survey first — not a promised rewrite.
What changes for the team
Order intake can start while the familiar accounting stays in place, and it is clear what to move next and how to prove nothing broke.
How the example is calculated
- Before
- 120 h/month
- After
- 51 h/month
Preliminary estimate · month
900 orders × 8 minutes = 120 h; 900 × 3 minutes of review + 6 h of reconciliation = 51 h
Assumptions
900 orders a month; 8 minutes of entry now; 3 minutes to review a draft after; 6 hours of reconciliation. Browser access is a separate new capability, not a “percentage modernized”.
What to check in a pilot
Agreed critical scenarios, matching totals and reference data, access rights, recovery and rollback. No claim of zero data loss before reconciliation.