What the work looks like
Rescues, migrations, and changes to running systems — each one a problem, a reversible-steps approach, and an outcome.
Most of these engagements share a shape: a system that matters is in trouble, a rewrite would be too big a bet, and the work happens in small, reversible steps while the business keeps running. Here are a few, told through what clients said about them.
Multiple apps moved to a new platform — quickly, and on budget
The problem
A company was running several applications on aging hosting with no modern build-and-deploy pipeline. The platform was holding the business back, and a full rewrite would have meant betting the system on one risky cutover.
The approach
Rather than rebuild, we migrated the apps to a new platform and stood up new CI/CD around them, moving in steps that could be tested and reversed. The existing systems kept running while the new path was proven out.
The outcome
The migration finished quickly and on budget, with the apps on modern infrastructure and a deployment process the team could rely on.
“David handled a migration of multiple apps to a new platform and new CI/CD, did it quickly and on budget. I wish I found them sooner, it would have saved me a ton of money.”
A broken Rails tool, recovered and brought back into service
The problem
A nonprofit depended on a custom tool built years earlier in Ruby on Rails. It had fallen into disrepair and stopped working — the kind of fragile, important, in-production code a team is afraid to touch.
The approach
We worked inside the existing system rather than replacing it: recovering the application, updating what had aged out, and verifying behavior as we went so the organization could keep relying on it.
The outcome
The tool was recovered and updated, and the organization came away ready to work with us again.
“The folks at Durable Programming did an exceptional job recovering and updating our broken tool (coded years ago in Ruby on Rails). Throughout the process they were responsive, patient, and communicative. We’ll definitely be a repeat customer!”
A platform pulled back from the brink at Casting Frontier
The problem
A casting platform was in serious trouble — the kind of acute, high-stakes failure where the system is at risk and the team needs someone who has seen the failure modes before.
The approach
David took ownership of the architecture and technology, stabilizing the platform and then growing it into one of the largest casting databases in the world, with 800,000+ actors. He led its technology through the 2020 acquisition by Talent Systems, the category leader.
The outcome
Casting Frontier went from imminent failure to the second-largest casting platform in commercial acting, and a successful exit.
“David Berube is highly recommended as a programmer and developer. He single handedly saved our project from imminent ruin. Most importantly, David really knows his code. I recommend him highly.”
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