Business software knowledge base

Practical guides for better software decisions

Explore web applications, SaaS, internal systems, integrations, legacy software and project delivery through the full business lifecycle.

Published guidance

All practical guides

125 published articles. Future materials remain available only through the protected preview until their scheduled date.

Decision guide

Fixed Scope vs Agile Budgeting

When a business commissions a web application, CRM system or internal tool, one of the earliest structural decisions is how the budget and scope will relate to …

Estimates and BudgetsRead guide
Practical guide

What Counts as a Legacy System?

The term "legacy system" is often used loosely to mean any software that feels outdated, but that interpretation misses the point. A legacy system is not define…

Understanding Legacy SystemsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Handle Cookie Consent in a Web Application

Cookies in a web application serve a different purpose from those on a marketing website. Rather than supporting advertising or basic analytics, application coo…

Compliance and RegulationRead guide
How-to guide

How to Secure a Customer Portal

A customer portal holds precisely the kind of data that attracts targeted attacks: personal details, invoices, contracts, order histories and, in some cases, pa…

Customer and Client PortalsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Design SaaS User Onboarding

User onboarding in a SaaS product is the process that takes someone from creating an account to reaching the point where they experience genuine value from the …

SaaS Onboarding and User ExperienceRead guide
Decision guide

Open-Source vs Proprietary Code in Business Applications

The distinction between open-source and proprietary code matters to your business because it affects what you can do with the software, what obligations sit aro…

Web Application Ownership and RightsRead guide
Explainer

Blue-Green Deployments Explained

A blue-green deployment is a way of releasing a new version of a web application without taking the current version offline. You keep two identical production e…

Environments and DeploymentRead guide
How-to guide

How to Onboard a New Team to a Legacy Codebase

Onboarding a new development team to a legacy codebase is fundamentally different from starting a greenfield project. In a new build, the team creates the struc…

Taking Over Legacy SystemsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Avoid Cloud Vendor Lock-In

Vendor lock-in is not a binary state you either have or avoid entirely. Every cloud relationship creates some dependency, whether through data formats, service …

Cloud Services and HostingRead guide
How-to guide

How to Gather Feedback After a System Launch

Gathering feedback after a system launch is not the same as running a customer satisfaction survey. When a business replaces a spreadsheet, introduces a custome…

Change Management for New SystemsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Track SaaS Product Usage

Tracking product usage means recording the actions people take inside your SaaS application so you can understand behaviour, identify problems and make informed…

SaaS Metrics and OperationsRead guide
Cost guide

How to Budget for Ongoing Web Application Support

Ongoing support for a web application is not a single line item. It covers several distinct responsibilities: keeping servers and dependencies up to date, respo…

Web Application CostsRead guide
Decision guide

Scrum vs Kanban for Software Projects

Scrum and Kanban are both ways of organising development work, but they operate on different principles. Understanding the distinction matters because the frame…

Development Methodologies ExplainedRead guide
How-to guide

How to Prioritise Legacy Modernisation Work

Most businesses running legacy systems cannot afford to replace everything at once. Prioritisation is the process of deciding which system, component or workflo…

Modernisation StrategiesRead guide
How-to guide

How to Recover from a Ransomware Attack

Ransomware targeting a business web application is fundamentally different from an attack on a desktop environment. When a CRM system, customer portal or intern…

Backups and Disaster RecoveryRead guide
How-to guide

How to Plan a CRM Data Migration

Data migration is the process of moving structured information from one CRM system to another. It is not a file copy. The source system stores data according to…

CRM SystemsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Test a SaaS MVP with Real Users

Testing a SaaS MVP with real users is not the same as quality assurance. QA checks whether the software works as specified. User testing checks whether the spec…

SaaS MVP PlanningRead guide
Decision guide

Progressive Web Apps vs Traditional Web Applications

A progressive web app (PWA) is a web application built with specific technologies—primarily service workers and a web app manifest—that allow it to behave more …

Understanding Web ApplicationsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Negotiate a Software Development Contract

A software development contract is not simply a formalised order. It governs what gets built, who owns it, how you confirm it works, what happens when things ch…

Contracts and LegalRead guide
How-to guide

How to Plan a Legacy Data Cutover

A data cutover is the specific point at which a new system becomes the live source of truth, replacing the old one. It is not the same as data migration, which …

Data Migration from Legacy SystemsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Plan Accessibility in a Web Application

Planning accessibility means deciding, at each stage of a project, how people with different abilities will use the system. It is not a separate workstream tack…

AccessibilityRead guide
How-to guide

How to Handle Exceptions in Business Processes

An exception is any situation that falls outside the normal flow of a defined process. In a CRM, that might be a customer whose account status does not fit any …

Business Process MappingRead guide
Decision guide

Vertical SaaS vs Horizontal SaaS

The distinction between vertical and horizontal SaaS is not a technical architecture decision. It is a market-positioning choice that shapes what the product do…

SaaS FundamentalsRead guide
How-to guide

How to Define User Roles for a Web Application

User roles should describe responsibility and access inside the application, not merely reproduce an organisation chart. A sound role model allows people to com…

Planning a Web ApplicationRead guide