I´ve found the will. Now, what does it mean? [The problems in the meanings we put to `legacy´ and `migration´]

Our current information systems must not only survive but also grow to meet the new tasks demanded of them. There are three possible contexts to discuss the problems that arise from the way we have constructed our existing systems and how the use of terms such as `legacy´ restricts the development of new systems. Each context for system development responds differently to introduced change. We suggest that there are three dangers in the use of `legacy´ which impose constraints upon new growth in each context-organisation: “it´s somebody else´s and not ours”; technology: “the base paradigm is out of date”; language: “it´s semantically out of date” We need a language context, with particular focus upon `meanings´, to investigate the problems of `change´ and its affect upon our organisations and their information systems. In the past, we have concentrated upon the mechanisms of implementation: the `How?´. We need to include the `Why?´, which can be found using semantics. We must recognise that users give meaning to the data we consume, store and produce within technology implementations. It pays to keep the user of the `signs´ at the centre of our vision