From 590c81f27b89fce30695641a83918e122d28bae2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Naomi Rosenberg Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2016 21:50:13 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Proposed talk on refactoring --- proposed/stealth-refactoring.md | 16 ++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+) create mode 100644 proposed/stealth-refactoring.md diff --git a/proposed/stealth-refactoring.md b/proposed/stealth-refactoring.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1be6598 --- /dev/null +++ b/proposed/stealth-refactoring.md @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +# Infos + +auth-name : naomi rosenberg +tag : refactoring, micro-management, professionalism + +need travel fee : N +need room : Y +Location : Planet Earth + +# How Stealth Refactoring is Wrecking our Codebases + +Because management are perceived not to value refactoring, developers fear being “told off” for doing it. So we refactor less than we’d like to, and when we do, we often sneak it in, hidden amongst functional changes. + +We know insufficient refactoring leads to technical debt. Stealth refactoring creates problems, too. Reviewing a diff mixing functional and non-functional changes is time-consuming and error-prone, costing money and introducing bugs. Also, stealth refactoring tends to focus only on the “geographical area” - the function, file or module - that we are “touching” at the time. What are the implications of that for the coherence and consistency of our codebases? + +I will make some technical suggestions for optimising how we refactor, but the main issue is cultural. Is our shame around refactoring entirely due to management, or are devs responsible too? How can we sell simplicity to people who may not be aware of its value? Can we create a culture that legitimises - or even rewards! - a practice that is, after all, essential to developing good software?