As organizations strive to stay competitive and responsive to ever-shifting user expectations, the pressure to evolve mature codebases while maintaining operational stability increases. At the heart of successful modernization lies an often underestimated force—user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design.

During our recent webinar, A Catalyst for Software Modernization: UX/UI Design, Chris Longo, Service Delivery Manager for the Progress OpenEdge Professional Services team, said it best: “Modernizing the user experience isn’t just about new visuals, it’s also about workflow and improving productivity.” By investing in thoughtful design, organizations not only create usability and accessibility but also unlock tangible business value, foster user satisfaction and accelerate development cycles.

The Continuous Modernization Journey

Software modernization is not a one-time event, but an ongoing journey shaped by emerging technologies, changing user needs and shifting business priorities. Longo reflected on the evolution: “Whether you realize it or not, you have probably been on a modernization continuous improvement journey … transforming monolithic applications into web portals, embracing cloud, integrating mobile and leveraging AI for actionable data insights.” This journey involves iterative assessment, strategic roadmap development and implementation, all aimed at delivering measurable improvements in user experience and business outcomes.

User Experience as a Modernization Driver

While UI changes are often the first visible sign of modernization, they are only part of the story. As Tsvyatko Konov (TK), Deputy Chief Technology Officer of Resolute Software, opined on UI “… [it’s] not just a nice layout and a few buttons. It’s actually part of an integrated process in which the designer and developer work together,” to map out workflows, clarify user journeys and deliver targeted value. This partnership bridges the gap between technology and usability, transforming a mature codebase from obstacle into competitive differentiator.

At Progress, we begin our customers’ modernization journeys with an honest assessment—uncovering where their solution falls short of business objectives and identifying opportunities for improvement. “The assessment step is really important because in this part of the modernization journey, we are uncovering or understanding the requirements and the business drivers and then from that, developing a roadmap or a playbook that’s repeatable,” Longo stated. This approach enables teams to deliver return on investment (ROI) incrementally, validating technology and workflows through proof of concept (POC) before scaling up.

When we reach the UX and UI stage, we often collaborate with partners like a boutique IT consulting company dedicated to empowering businesses to thrive in the digital age. Combining creativity with technical expertise, their teams design and develop solutions that are both aesthetically pleasing and high performing. With a strong focus on domain-driven consulting, Resolute crafts customized modernization strategies that align with each client’s unique business goals. They take a holistic approach, addressing technical, operational and business needs, while embracing agile methodologies to deliver exceptional results quickly.

Yana Vasileva, UX and UI design lead at Resolute, expounded on this topic: “UX is how the product works and UI is how the product looks and feels.” But beyond aesthetics, UX is the why of the product design process—the effort to understand the user’s pain points, business goals and technical dependencies, and to design efficient, intuitive and relevant workflows. UI, then, is the how—the visual language, branding and accessibility spanning all device types. Together, they form a blueprint as essential as architectural plans for a house.

Addressing the Unique Challenges of a Mature Codebase

Applications with mature codebases are often the backbone of business operations, but they pose unique challenges for modernization efforts. It’s common for designers to engage late in the lifecycle, confronted with systems that have grown organically for years or even decades with little focus on UX. For these scenarios, wholesale rewrites are neither practical nor desirable.

Instead, targeted enhancements can deliver substantial results. Vasileva explained, “We have had clients with user feedback that was positive about how the software works, but users were disappointed with the look. Something like a brand redesign and UI modernization … can provide enough customer retention and positive outcomes for the business.” For deeper pain points—like confusing navigation, information overload or reliance on workarounds (such as exporting to Excel)—solutions may require more fundamental redesigns and improved interaction flows that keep the user’s context front and center.

Real-World Success Stories

The webinar highlighted concrete examples where design-driven modernization has paid off. In one case, a healthcare provider needed to migrate a desktop application to the web, making it accessible across devices for doctors and technicians in real-time scenarios. “The client insisted on preserving the user experience in the new web-based system,” said Vasileva. This collaborative approach produced validated prototypes, optimized navigation and responsive layouts tailored to varying user personas. In another case, modernization in the public safety sector called for a mobile-first redesign, involving careful retention of familiar workflows while adapting forms and layouts for fieldwork on phones and tablets, all with accessibility in mind.

The Resolute team elaborated on how design tools like Figma have become indispensable, enabling designers and developers to collaborate efficiently, validate prototypes and maintain centralized component libraries. “Once we receive an artifact from Figma, we’re actually getting something that has probably passed several iterations. It’s rethought not only from how things would look like, but also from a requirements point of view,” noted TK. This tight integration creates design improvements, which aren’t isolated events, but part of an ongoing cycle of enhancement.

Measuring ROI and Building for the Future

The question of ROI for UX and UI design is prevalent. While it’s difficult to quantify precisely, the impact is felt through reduced training costs, accelerated development and better user retention. “Well-designed workflows and interfaces will need often little to no training. Prototyping cuts rework … [and] developers have better predictability for tasks,” Vasileva observed. Organizations are encouraged to begin with audits or assessments to identify “low-hanging fruit,” create component and style libraries for consistency and iteratively collect feedback from real users.

Small, well-executed changes like simplifying navigation, consolidating forms or adding meaningful error messages can dramatically boost user satisfaction and productivity. And for developers, Vasileva goes on to say that receiving validated prototypes and standardized layouts “… reduces the rework, the time spent on quality assurance and the time spent on bug fixing,” which yields efficiencies across the board.

Takeaways and Next Steps

So what’s the main advice for any modernization effort? Start where the value is greatest, focus on iterative improvements and create a partnership between designers and developers for the greatest impact. As Longo summarized, “UX is really important … It’s about workflow efficiency and making sure that the users of the solution are getting what they want … in the most efficient way possible.” Continuous teamwork, clear roadmaps and a relentless focus on user needs will drive modernization efforts that are not only technically robust, but also business-ready.

If your organization is ready to take the next step, consider partnering with the Professional Services team to conduct an initial assessment. Use prototype-driven, collaborative development cycles and continuously gather user feedback because modernization of UI and UX isn’t just about looking good, but transforming the way people work, collaborate and innovate.

Watch the Webinar