A Roadmap Beyond PHP 7 — PHP 7: Maintaining and Upgrading Legacy Apps

A realistic modernization roadmap: (1) stabilize — containerize, monitor, add CI with characterization tests; (2) secure — fix injection, XSS, password hashing, update dependencies; (3) upgrade — PHP 8.x with Rector and dual CI; (4) modernize — Composer autoloading, DI, a framework via strangler fig, static analysis at higher levels; (5) keep current — upgrade PHP yearly and keep dependencies fresh with Renovate/Dependabot. Communicate progress in business terms: fewer incidents, faster delivery, reduced risk.

# renovate.json — keep dependencies moving after the upgrade
{
  "extends": ["config:recommended"],
  "packageRules": [
    { "matchUpdateTypes": ["patch", "minor"], "automerge": true }
  ]
}

Common pitfalls

Treating the PHP 8 upgrade as the finish line and stalling again.
Modernizing low-value areas while critical paths stay fragile.
No business case, so the work keeps getting deprioritized.

Key points

Stabilize → secure → upgrade → modernize → stay current
Automate dependency updates
Report progress in business terms

Common pitfalls

Key points

Practice questions