1 Legacy migration strategy and target system design for an e-business project Hui Shen a , Brian Wall b , Michal Zaremba b , Yuliu Chen a , Jimmie Browne b a Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China b Computer Integrated Manufacturing Research Unit (CIMRU), National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland shenhui98@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn Abstract Legacy migration strategy is an important factor when carrying out an IS (information system) project. This paper is based on an e-business project funded by European Commission in which web-based tools are integrated with costly and mission-critical legacy information systems. After a literature survey on the subject, a 7-step piecemeal migration strategy is recommended which follows an incremental migration from the legacy IS to a target IS. Then a generic framework of the target environment is presented, which illustrates the architecture of an e-business system that integrates both legacy and new system modules with workflow and XML support. Key words: legacy migration, system integration, middleware, e-business, workflow, XML 1. Introduction In general many of the information systems that were installed in companies up to recently have been proprietary and have only dealt with a part of the companys functions. The architectures are not open enough and this means integration between systems is very difficult. Furthermore, the programming languages and databases are outdated and hard to maintain. Nowadays, new techniques such as web, distributed database and object-orientation are developed rapidly and are accompanying the new business trends of virtual enterprise, supply chain management and e-business. Legacy ISs (Information Systems) are evidently unable to support current business requirements. In order to remain competitive, there is an urgent need for enterprises to upgrade their information systems. The ideal target IS should be designed in an open architecture and developed using new techniques. It should be easy to maintain and easy to integrate with other systems. Legacy IS migration is a dominant concern of strategic IS planners, and other corporate decision makers. There are a couple of problems that must be addressed. The first is to keep the ISs running and the second is to modify them to meet current business needs. Generally the goal of legacy IS migration is a smooth migration path from inflexible, difficult-to-maintain, and easily breakable systems to ones that use the most appropriate and robust advanced technologies [1]. In the case of the European Commissions IST (Information Society Technologies) project in question named SMARTISAN (Smart Artisans: IST-2000-26267), it is about moving business processes to a new system based on an overall strategic business plan that involves e-business. That requires cooperation and understanding between the business management and technology management. Each incremental change to the technology puts the business closer to maximum productivity. This paper is focused on the legacy migration strategies in implementing the SMARTISAN project. In section 2, a literature survey of the topic of legacy migration is presented as a basis for further discussion. This section will clarify some important concepts, give