Revealing the root causes of systemic technical debt to transform a technology organization into a scalable, high-performing unit
Modernizing core systems is a monumental task, but for carriers operating in complex lines of business—like specialty or management liability—the challenge is magnified. One market-leading leader set out to rebuild its legacy platform with a microservices-based architecture. The vision was clear: a scalable, decoupled system that could accelerate time-to-market, improve maintainability, and support long-term business growth.
However, as the project progressed, doubts crept in. The architecture was brittle. Developers were slowed by inefficiencies. Teams lacked confidence that the new system could launch successfully. Despite months of work, the project was heading toward failure, and leadership needed answers.
Key Question: Why was the rebuild stalling, and how could it be rescued before it was too late?
When the architecture was assessed, the findings were stark: the current approach was not just inefficient—it was non-viable.
Here’s what was discovered:
Brittle Architecture: Services were tightly coupled, with orchestrated RPC calls and shared schemas leading to single points of failure. If one piece broke, the entire system came crashing down.
Shared Schema Constraint: The legacy database schema was tightly coupled to services, causing data dependencies to leak across boundaries. This violated microservices principles and locked the system into inflexible integrations.
Fragility and Risk: With an excessive number of API calls in a single service, the system lacked resilience and scalability, making it risky to change and even riskier to launch.
Takeaway: Building microservices without well-defined boundaries or resilience patterns is like pouring a foundation without a blueprint—it won’t hold up.
Beyond technical flaws, organizational and cultural issues were holding the project back:
Leadership Gaps: Teams lacked clear technical leadership to enforce coding standards, set direction, and guide best practices.
Imbalanced Teams: Too many junior developers (with minimal mentorship) created knowledge gaps and inconsistent code quality.
Inefficient Processes: Agile and SAFe practices were only partially adopted, leading to misalignment and poor collaboration between business and IT.
Lack of Communication: Teams weren’t aligned on the project’s goals, and continuous changes introduced without reinforcement led to resistance.
Takeaway: Modernizing technology requires modernizing processes and leadership alongside it. Architecture alone can’t fix organizational misalignment.
Rather than “throwing out” the rebuild, the focus shifted to stabilizing and redirecting it. A phased roadmap combined technical improvements, team alignment, and process change:
1. Stabilize the Current System:
Introduce local developer databases to reduce reliance on shared resources.
Integrate NServiceBus for reliable, event-driven messaging.
Define clear bounded contexts to decouple services and isolate failures.
2. Architect for Resilience:
Transition to a service-oriented architecture with clear ownership boundaries.
Migrate data ownership to microservices and enable event-based updates.
Standardize tools and coding practices to simplify development.
3. Realign Teams and Processes:
Rebalance to best-practice 80:20 senior-to-junior mix to improve mentorship and code quality.
Establish Technical Leads to enforce best practices and align teams with architectural goals.
Implement structured governance to improve communication, accountability, and decision-making.
Takeaway: Big problems are best solved iteratively. Small, targeted improvements build momentum and confidence.
One of the most overlooked contributors to project struggles was the resistance to change. Teams were overwhelmed by shifting priorities, unclear goals, and fragmented communication.
Strategies implemented to address this:
A Culture of Over-Communication: Mission statements, clear objectives, and tailored communication plans to align all stakeholders.
Structured Change Management: Training to create awareness, build desire for change, and equip teams with the tools to succeed.
Repeatable Processes: Onboarding frameworks, knowledge-sharing activities, and consistent reinforcement of best practices.
Takeaway: Change doesn’t stick unless people understand the “why” and feel equipped to embrace it.
By stabilizing the architecture, realigning teams, and improving processes, the carrier was able to shift from uncertainty to confidence. Key outcomes included:
Stability and Resilience: The roadmap enabled incremental modernization without jeopardizing delivery timelines.
Developer Productivity: Local tools, standardized practices, and improved leadership unlocked team efficiency.
Organizational Alignment: Clear roles, communication frameworks, and cultural reinforcement reduced friction and built trust.
1. Validate Early and Often: If your teams sense a strategy isn’t working, listen. Validate assumptions early to avoid costly setbacks.
2. Architecture Requires Boundaries: Microservices only succeed when services are decoupled and resilient by design.
3. Modernization Is Holistic: Technology upgrades must be accompanied by improvements to processes, leadership, and culture.
4. Iterate for Success: Avoid big-bang transformations. Break problems into incremental phases to deliver small wins and reduce risk.
5. Invest in Technical Leadership: Senior developers and technical leads are critical to maintaining standards and mentoring teams.
The company's struggles are not unique—many companies face similar challenges when modernizing legacy systems. The key to success lies in balancing technology, people, and process while taking an iterative, risk-aware approach.
By identifying the root causes of failure and implementing a clear roadmap, even stalled modernizations can succeed with the right expertise, roadmap, and cultural alignment.
At Praxent, we specialize in helping financial services and PBM companies take a holistic approach to modernization. Our architecture assessments uncover challenges across technology, people, and processes—providing you with actionable roadmaps that reduce risk and drive sustainable success.
Whether you’re at the start of your modernization journey or hitting unexpected roadblocks, we’re here to help you:
Let’s talk about how we can help you assess and transform your technology organization.