Course Overview
This course is intended to help those who are planning to document existing legacy systems in
order to properly maintain, transform or migrate the legacy environment using visual modelling
techniques. The course is a hands-on experience with a case study that provides the course
participants practical experience in the concepts taught.
Although the standard course is based on the use of the Enterprise Architect modelling tool and a
prescribed case- study, it may be adapted to include other modelling tools and client specific case
studies.
The course provides a comprehensive outline to how a legacy system documentation project should
be approached and executed. The following topics are covered:
A project approach
An overview to the project approach of how a documentation project should be planned for and
executed in a legacy environment. It includes the introduction of a project process, the use of the
templates that are provided as part of the course materials and the major deliverables of such a
project. The importance of modelling standards and how to develop these standards are also
discussed.
- Understanding the legacy system - Understanding the legacy system, its components, its
language grammar and environment. The aim is to understand the possibilities of how
the system can be broken up in components that may be mapped to the UML. The re-
usability of code and the identification of reusable code are also discussed.
- Mapping the legacy system to the UML - The course participants are introduced to the
UML diagram framework, and how the different component parts of the legacy system
can be mapped to it.
- Documenting the model - Using the templates provided as part of the course materials,
the course participants are taught how to model the legacy system in the Enterprise
Architect modelling tool. They are also taught how to generate documentation and HTML
reports.
- Validating the model - Using the UML model as a basis the course participants are taught
how to validate the models against the real life business processes. This serves to bring
the models to completion and a valid representation of the legacy system it represents.
As part of the conclusion of the course some possible scenarios are discussed on how these legacy
system models may be used to maintain the system, integrate it with other systems, or to use it as
a basis for a new system development.
Audience
The following persons would derive value from this course:
- Business analysts, systems analysts and data analysts who want to understand the
techniques for documenting legacy systems
- Project leaders and managers that will manage legacy system documentation projects
- Anyone responsible for maintenance of existing systems
Prerequisites
The following applies:
- A good understanding of modelling UML
- Experience with the use of the Enterprise Architect tool (or UML tool to be used in the
course)
Expected outcomes
After this course the course participants will understand the approach and techniques to be used in
the documentation of the legacy environment. They will be able to:
- Plan a legacy documentation project
- Map a legacy system to the UML
- Model the components of the legacy model in the UML
- Review and validate the UML model against the real life business processes
Duration
3 days
All of our UML courses are taught by OMG certified UML professionals.
For more information on the OMG's UML Certification program go here. 
