When you are starting the design process, one of the first considerations is whether you are designing a greenfield or a brownfield system. The terms greenfield and brownfield are used in a number of disciplines. It is an analogy to a construction project, and whether it will begin on greenfield land, as in land that is undeveloped, or brownfield land, referring to land that was previously developed but is not currently in use.
Greenfield versus brownfield software systems
Greenfield systems
A greenfield software system is a completely new software application, one in which you can start with a clean slate. There are no constraints based on any prior work. A greenfield system can be designed for a well-understood domain or...