LabArchives: A decade-old Rails app. A team ready to grow. Together, we turned technical debt into opportunity.

About LabArchives

LabArchives is a leader in electronic lab notebook software, trusted by researchers and educators across the globe. Over the years, their platform evolved quickly to meet the growing needs of the scientific community. But with that rapid growth came technical debt—a widening gap between their Rails version and the current release, along with growing complexity in maintaining the application.

When LabArchives decided it was time to modernize their Rails stack, they knew it wouldn’t be a quick fix. They were looking for more than a team to “just do the upgrade.” They wanted a partner who could collaborate closely with their developers—mapping out a plan, sharing knowledge, and supporting their team's growth in the process.

That’s where Planet Argon came in.

The Challenge

Modernizing a large Ruby on Rails application isn’t just about updating version numbers. For LabArchives, the challenge was deeper.

Their product was running on Rails 3.2 LTS—a long-term support version that was nearly a decade old. That meant facing significant performance limitations, security exposure, and increasing barriers to adopting modern development tools and libraries. But technical risk wasn’t the only concern.

LabArchives also had an in-house development team that needed to be part of the solution, not observers on the sidelines. They wanted their engineers to learn, grow, and gain confidence throughout the process so that they could carry the platform forward well beyond the upgrade.

This was a team that didn’t just need support—they needed a partner who could provide consultation, coaching, and collaboration.

The Process

We began with a thorough Rails upgrade assessment. This wasn’t just a code audit—it was a collaborative effort to build shared understanding. We reviewed their codebase in depth, surfaced problem areas, and developed a detailed roadmap toward the latest Rails version. Most importantly, we made sure the LabArchives team understood the rationale behind each technical decision.

Once the roadmap was established, we moved into staff augmentation. Our engineers joined the LabArchives team directly, not to take over, but to work side by side and model modern Rails practices in action.

Here’s how that looked in practice:

• Pair Programming: Engineers from both teams collaborated on challenging upgrade tasks in real-time, learning and teaching as they worked.
• Knowledge Sharing: We explained not only what to do but why—introducing up-to-date Rails features, techniques, and refactoring strategies.
• Agile, Embedded Support: Daily communication through Slack, regular check-ins, and frequent screen-sharing sessions kept momentum high and blockers low.

As the engagement progressed, our collaboration turned into co-ownership. LabArchives’ developers began taking the lead on upgrades, solving issues, refactoring modules, and confidently navigating breaking changes. Of course, there were plenty of legacy surprises along the way:

• Outdated or unsupported gems
• Custom business logic with minimal test coverage
• Mystery features left behind by past developers

But each of these became a teaching moment, not a dead end. Our job was to ensure the team gained not just progress, but real capability.

The Results

By the end of the initial six-week engagement, the Rails upgrade was well underway—and more importantly, LabArchives’ developers were actively leading it.

They had not only adopted modern Rails techniques but had developed the confidence to guide their platform into the future. The momentum was so strong that they extended our engagement for another six weeks, further embedding the practices and patterns that would serve them long-term.

After that second cycle, we transitioned into an on-call consulting role. Now, when tricky problems come up, we’re a Slack message away—ready to support, advise, and unblock their progress. Their team is in the driver’s seat, with expert backup whenever they need it.

Conclusion

LabArchives came to Planet Argon with a big challenge: modernizing their product and upskilling their developers. Together, we tackled both.

Through a blend of technical guidance, collaborative engineering, and practical mentorship, we helped them upgrade their Rails platform while building a more confident, self-sufficient development team. What started as a version bump became a lasting investment in their people and their product.