Bahmni case study - The UX framework for modernising an open source legacy healthcare software

Bahmni is a free, open-source Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and hospital management system built in 2012 for low-resource environments. To meet evolving healthcare needs, we embarked on a legacy modernization journey, redesigning the user experience one piece at a time.

This talk breaks down the critical UX flaws common in legacy software—such as flat visual hierarchies, fragmented navigation, and high-friction workflows—and introduces a 4-part framework to solve them:

• Research: Looking backward to investigate user habits, uncover technical constraints, and identify what not to break.

• Redefine: Setting clear goals for what to retain, improve, or add, ensuring new designs seamlessly coexist with the old system.

• Rebuild: Implementing a dual approach—building atomic design system components while maintaining a unified interface shell.

• Validate:  Because legacy users have strong muscle memory,testing isn't just checking if the new design works; it's measuring friction, and migration shock.

Using real-world examples from Bahmni, this session demonstrates the framework in practice, revealing the invisible UX layers behind seemingly simple decisions like shifting a button or removing tabs

• The Legacy UX Framework: A 4-stage process built specifically for modernising old software

• Phase-by-Phase Tactics: The exact methodologies, challenges and consideration for each stage of UX

• Real-World Case Study: A step-by-step breakdown of a complex legacy redesign from initial audit to final launch.

• Invisible Decision-Making: The stakeholder alignment, trade-offs, and risk management happening behind the UI.