There comes a point in everyones I.T. career when they become responsible for a legacy system. This is inevitable and I call it the Penelope Principle. Like the Peter Principle (where people are promoted to their level of incompetence) and the Dilbert Principle (incompetent workers are promoted to where they can do least damage - management) this should be accepted and worked with rather than being fought against. It is stated thus:

All I.T. workers will be promoted into a position where they become responsible for a Legacy System

However the I.T. industry is obsessed with new technologies and new projects. University courses, books, magazines and conferences focus on what is new and assume you always start with a clean slate. This isn't what actually occurs in the real world and I hope what follows fills some of this gap. This book is NOT intended to present a formal methodology but is aimed at all the Penelopes out there who need a guidebook to help them with their first legacy system.