legacy engineering
Why you can’t engineer your way out of Legacy
February 3, 2026
The Myth of “One Last Redesign” Application OEMs often fall into a familiar trap: when legacy pressure builds, the next redesign is expected to solve it. One more refresh. One more board update. Another attempt to buy ten more years of support. On paper, it feels rational. Engineering is engaged. Specifications are modernized. A technical path…
Staying Mission Ready: The Importance and Value of Extending Legacy Equipment Lifecycles in Critical Defense Programs
October 30, 2025
In previous articles, we’ve discussed the massive, costly impact that electronics obsolescence has on Defense programs. Few industries feel the effects of this problem the way that Defense manufacturers, contractors, and programs experience it. Many of the electronic systems deployed for use in these applications will be needed for ten years or more, often upwards…
Managing Electronic Component Obsolescence in Defense Programs
October 1, 2025
The problem of electronics obsolescence is uniquely potent when it comes to Defense programs. Modern Defense electronic systems tend to be rife with obsolete components or components at risk for being discontinued–some of which are mission-critical for the larger system. So not only is electronic obsolescence more prevalent, it also tends to have a much…
Legacy Engineering: Balancing Innovation with Tradition
October 1, 2024
Legacy electronic systems result from technology’s swift evolution, a rapid pace of growth and innovation that, while widely celebrated, leaves many embedded systems incompatible and unable to easily and affordably upgrade in its wake. What is Legacy Engineering? The goal of engineering as a general field has always been to solve technical problems, increase efficiency…
Do your legacy products spark joy?
July 19, 2021
“We have too much stuff,” my wife said six months into the pandemic. We’d done purges before, but they never lasted. Soon afterward, she’d say, “We STILL have too much stuff!” And she was right. This time, we decided to search the internet for advice and discovered Marie Kondo. “KonMari” is a Japanese organizational consultant…
7 Perspectives about Legacy Engineering
October 26, 2018
Once component EOL notices have been issued and COTS embedded boards are discontinued, the processes for keeping your embedded systems vital drastically changes and so must your overall thinking about them. When the supply chain is active, acquiring the boards and components you need requires simply placing an order. Extending or even reviving a product…
What is PLM+™ ?
August 17, 2018
PLM+ is GDCA’s targeted approach to legacy sustainment, developed over decades by working closely with board and application OEMs. The process offers a new organizational structure to legacy sustainment, a time-tested way of being prepared. Traditional PLM (product lifecycle management) doesn’t address the intricacies of indefinitely sustaining legacy equipment after EOL. Traditional PLM leaves out…
Legacy Assurance vs. Just in Time (JIT) Procurement
May 10, 2018
Innovative ways of thinking are tantamount to making changes in procedural methods. Just in Time (JIT) procurement for acquiring EOL’d embedded boards is often not an option for Legacy Equipment Manufacturing (LEM). Once an EOL notice has been issued and the parts for your system are no longer in production you’ll want to know the…