Cleaning up a system

[ryetee]

Thoughts so far
Dependency checker - easy to install and work out what I can get rid of almost straight away
V-tools - installed but not really worked out what it can offer me

 

[Mark_]

Two other items not touched on...
1) Talk to the end users and find out what OUTPUTS (reports, exported data, what have you) they use and document this.
2) Once you know what they expect to come out of this system, do the same for INPUTS.

The best built system is useless if its not used. This list will help you identify what is really being used.

From there, look for supporting systems required to allow input/output.

If need be, create a blank front end and start importing reports. Find out what queries and tables they need. Then start bringing in forms that drive the reports.

I had to do something similar a few years back. Spent a month trying to work out what needed what in the existing system. Then I sat back and found out what was actually used. Created new front end and brought over the couple dozen objects.

Once that was working I removed the hundreds of odd reports and queries left over from previous visits of the "Good idea fairy". I couldn't believe how much... garbage had been left in there.

 

[ryetee]

Two other items not touched on...
1) Talk to the end users and find out what OUTPUTS (reports, exported data, what have you) they use and document this.
2) Once you know what they expect to come out of this system, do the same for INPUTS.

The best built system is useless if its not used. This list will help you identify what is really being used.

From there, look for supporting systems required to allow input/output.

If need be, create a blank front end and start importing reports. Find out what queries and tables they need. Then start bringing in forms that drive the reports.

I had to do something similar a few years back. Spent a month trying to work out what needed what in the existing system. Then I sat back and found out what was actually used. Created new front end and brought over the couple dozen objects.

Once that was working I removed the hundreds of odd reports and queries left over from previous visits of the "Good idea fairy". I couldn't believe how much... garbage had been left in there.

Not touched on but done already! The system is fairly trivial to be honest until you go into design modes and there are, on a number of forms, literally, tens of hidden fields. Most you could probably just junk and take the risk but the coding is bizarre so a hidden seemingly unused control is actually used as a called routine (yeah I know this is crazy). The system used to be too clever with timed events here and there.

I've managed to clear all the garbage away using the dependency checker.

Anyway good points for my next cleaning exercise!