Hollinford

    How We Work

    From legacy system to modern application — we'll walk you through exactly what happens from the first conversation to a production-ready system, including the techniques we use when documentation doesn't exist.

    Book a free discovery callSee what we deliver →

    Four phases. You're in control at every step.

    Each phase ends with a decision point. You can stop at any stage and keep everything we've produced — requirements, domain model, working proof of concept. No long-term commitment until you choose to make one.

    Phase 0

    Free discovery call

    Approx. 30 minutes

    You decide whether to proceed
    Phase 01

    Requirements gathering

    Approx. 1 week

    You decide whether to proceed
    Phase 02

    Working Proof of Concept

    Approx. 2 weeks (Depends on a system size)

    You decide whether to proceed
    Phase 03

    Production build

    Approx. 1-3+ months

    Live system delivered
    Phase 030 minutes · free · no obligation

    Free Discovery Call

    A short, honest conversation. We assess the situation, understand your systems and goals, and recommend the right path forward — even if that path isn't us.

    You tell us the situation

    Share your systems, your pain points, and what you're trying to achieve.

    We ask the right questions

    Technology, available documentation, team, and timeline — we cover what matters.

    Honest initial assessment

    Is modernisation the right approach? Is a Health Check needed first? Could you solve this without us?

    No pressure, no lock-in

    A rough scope, timeline indication, and an honest answer about whether Hollinford is the right fit.

    Your decision point

    After the call, you decide whether to proceed to Phase 1. Book a 30-minute slot at a time that suits you.

    Book your free discovery callStart with a Health Check
    Phase 1Approximately 1 week

    Requirements Extraction.

    Capture a complete picture of what the legacy system does — even when documentation is missing, incomplete, or wrong.

    How we extract requirements

    Four techniques. Most projects combine two or three.

    Preferred

    Video walkthroughs

    Your staff record short screen videos of themselves using the system — one video per workflow — narrating what they're doing and why. Our AI tools parse the videos to recognise screens, map user stories, and extract process flows and business rules. A domain analyst validates every output. No requirement is accepted without human review.

    Why this works. Staff know the system better than any documentation. Video captures what they actually do — including workarounds and edge cases that were never specified.

    What you get at the end of Phase 1

    A restored SRS (Software Requirements Specification) documenting what the system does
    A domain model mapping business entities, rules, and relationships
    A prioritised list of use cases and user stories
    A clear view of what to carry forward, what to simplify, and what can be dropped

    Your decision point. Proceed to Phase 2, take the requirements to another provider, upgrade your existing platform, or pause — the documentation is yours either way.

    Phase 2Approx. 2 weeks (Depends on a system size)

    Working Proof of Concept

    A functional prototype with real screens, real data flow, real interactions. Built before you commit to a full build.

    What we build

    • Working Proof of Concept of the core requirements captured in Phase 1.
    • Production-grade foundation from day one — i18n, responsive design, CI/CD, authentication, test data.
    • Clear shape of the final system, with edge cases and integrations deferred to Phase 3.

    Why a Proof of Concept matters

    See something real in days, not months.
    Validate we understood requirements correctly.
    Catch fundamental issues before full build.
    Concrete basis to compare options.
    2–3days

    From requirements to working prototype

    60–70%

    Of final functionality typically already proven

    1decision

    After Phase 2 — proceed or pause, no lock-in

    Your decision point. Decide whether to proceed to production with a working prototype in hand. If you stop, you keep the proof of concept and the requirements.

    Phase 31-3+ months depending on complexity

    Production Build.

    Turn the proof of concept into a production-ready system. Features ship one by one to a live test environment — you watch every step.

    01

    Team deployed

    A team extends the proof of concept into the full production application — no rework from scratch.

    02

    Live every commit

    Every commit appears in your test environment. No sprint waits, no milestone reveals.

    03

    Docs stay current

    Domain model and use cases update with each delivery — never out of date.

    04

    You stay close

    Daily, every-few-days, or weekly check-ins. Reprioritise on the fly when business shifts.

    Pricing model

    Typically time & materials, scoped after Phase 2. Fixed-price available for smaller, well-understood systems.

    See pricing

    What you get at the end

    Ongoing support after launch
    A production-ready, modern application with all business logic migrated
    Full documentation kept current throughout development
    CI/CD pipeline, automated tests, and deployment infrastructure
    Out-of-the-box foundation: i18n, responsive design, authentication, test data, demo data
    A smooth path to ongoing support — or handover to your internal team

    You're in the loop at every step.

    Throughout Phase 3, this cycle runs continuously. Each turn produces a testable, deployable increment. No requirement is considered done until you've seen it working.

    Step 1Requirement
    Step 2Domain model update
    Step 3Use case update
    Step 4Implementation
    Step 5Deploy to test
    Step 6Client review
    Repeats every increment

    Process questions, answered

    The questions IT managers and founders ask before committing. If yours isn't here, ask on the discovery call.

    What if we have no documentation at all?
    That's common — and it's fine. The video walkthrough approach is specifically designed for undocumented systems. Your staff know the system; we help them capture that knowledge systematically, then validate it before anything is treated as a requirement.
    What if we don't have source code access?
    We can work from binary analysis for older technologies (Delphi, C++ Builder, legacy Windows applications) combined with video walkthroughs. Source code makes things faster, but it's not essential.
    Can we stop after Phase 1 if we decide not to proceed?
    Yes. Every phase ends with a decision point. If you stop, you keep everything we've produced — the requirements documentation, the domain model, and (if you reached Phase 2) the working proof of concept. You're never locked in.
    How is the Proof of Concept different from the final system?
    The proof of concept implements the core requirements with the full application foundation (i18n, responsive design, CI/CD, authentication). It may lack some integrations, edge cases, and complex business logic. Think of it as typically 60–70% of the functionality — enough to prove the approach and validate requirements.
    Why time & materials for Phase 3 instead of fixed price?
    Because Phase 3 scope is refined during Phases 1 and 2. By the time we start Phase 3, you'll have a much clearer picture of what's needed. For smaller, well-defined systems, we may offer a fixed price — we'll discuss this at the Phase 2 decision point.
    How much involvement do my staff need during Phase 1?
    About 2–4 hours over the week. The main task is recording video walkthroughs of key workflows. Most staff find this straightforward since they're just showing what they normally do. We provide guidance on what to record and how.
    What technologies do you use for the new system?
    We choose the stack based on your needs, but we typically build with modern web frameworks (React, .NET, Node.js) on cloud-ready infrastructure. The proof of concept is built on a standard project template that includes CI/CD, automated testing, and deployment pipelines from day one.

    Named systems

    What we map during discovery

    During discovery, we map the legacy systems, data flows, reports, integrations and dependencies that keep the business running — not just the headline application. The Legacy Systems hub shows the named systems we cover most often.

    The first step is always a conversation.

    Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We'll listen to your situation, ask smart questions, and give you an honest assessment of whether our process fits your needs. If it doesn't, we'll tell you.