# Engineering terms, explained plainly

Plain definitions of engineering ownership, software rescue and legacy modernisation, with practical examples and links to further reading.

## [What is engineering ownership?](https://sunclue.com/glossary/engineering-ownership/)

Engineering ownership is an agreement about who is responsible for the behaviour and care of a software system. It should make decisions and operating duties clear while keeping the company in control.

## [What is legacy modernisation?](https://sunclue.com/glossary/legacy-modernisation/)

Legacy modernisation changes an existing system so the business can keep using it with less risk or friction. The useful starting point is a constraint to remove, rather than the age of the technology.

## [What is a software rescue engagement?](https://sunclue.com/glossary/rescue-engagement/)

A software rescue engagement is a bounded investigation and recovery effort for a system or project that is no longer making useful progress. It starts with evidence about the failure, not a predetermined rewrite.

---

[Canonical HTML page](https://sunclue.com/glossary/) · [Sunclue reading guide](https://sunclue.com/llms.txt)