Fixed-price review
Legacy Health Check
A structured look at an ageing system's production reliability, supportability, and key-person risk, with a clear picture of what needs attention first.
The first step is a free 20-minute call, then a fixed-price quote: book the call or describe the problem.
Legacy systems rarely fail all at once — risk accumulates quietly through undocumented behaviour, ageing dependencies, and knowledge that lives in one person's head. This check turns that accumulated risk into a clear, prioritised picture, scoped as a fixed piece of work with a defined deliverable.
What gets reviewed
- Production reliability — how the system actually behaves in the real world, not just how it was designed to
- Supportability — documentation, test coverage, and how safely the system can be deployed and changed. See also Maintainability
- Key-person risk — how much of the system's knowledge lives outside any written record. See also Knowledge Transfer
- Anything specific you flag up front — a part of the system nobody fully understands any more, or one that keeps causing out-of-hours calls
What you get
A written findings report giving a clear picture of what needs attention first — not an exhaustive rewrite plan, but a prioritised view of risk you can act on. A short walkthrough call to talk through the findings is included; addressing any of the findings is a separate, further-scoped piece of work. You have seven days after the walkthrough to come back with questions by email, and I'll answer them. If something bigger comes out of it, we can talk about that as its own piece of work.
What I need from you
To do this properly I need read-only access to the code, whatever documentation exists, and someone who can answer questions for about an hour in total. You'll have the findings within ten working days of me getting access.
Where I draw the line
This is a health check, not a migration or rewrite programme. Where a finding points to deeper modernisation work, I'll say so plainly rather than stretch a fixed-scope check to cover it — that becomes its own scoped engagement if you want to pursue it.
This review covers one system, and up to three conversations of around 45 minutes with the people who know it best. I need read-only access to the code and to whatever logs or monitoring exist; if there are none, that becomes a finding rather than a blocker. If the system turns out to be several systems that grew together, I'll say so on the call and we agree which one comes first.
Explore related areas
Explore Backend/API Audit · Explore Integration Review · Explore Maintainability · Explore Knowledge Transfer
Get a quote
A fixed-price quote for the check is provided after a free 20-minute call, once I understand roughly what's in scope. Delivery is 100% remote.
Frequently asked questions
What does a legacy health check review?
Three things: production reliability (how the system actually behaves in the real world rather than how it was designed to), supportability (documentation, test coverage and how safely it can be deployed and changed) and key-person risk (how much of the system's knowledge lives outside any written record). You can also flag specific concerns up front, such as a component nobody understands or one that keeps causing out-of-hours calls.
What do I receive from a legacy health check?
A written findings report giving a clear, prioritised picture of what needs attention first. It is not an exhaustive rewrite plan but a view of risk you can act on. A short walkthrough call to talk through the findings is included. Addressing any of the findings is a separate, further-scoped piece of work that you can choose to pursue afterwards.
How much does a legacy health check cost?
The check is scoped as a fixed piece of work with a defined deliverable, so it is quoted as a fixed price agreed in writing after a free 20-minute call to understand roughly what is in scope. Follow-on remediation, if you want it, is quoted separately as a fixed price. See how pricing works.
Is a legacy health check the same as a migration or modernisation project?
No. It is a health check, not a migration or rewrite programme. Where a finding points to deeper modernisation work, Jamie will say so plainly rather than stretch a fixed-scope check to cover it, and that becomes its own scoped engagement if you choose to pursue it. The check is delivered 100% remotely by Jamie Page, a C#/.NET and Azure specialist.