The Mob Mentality Show Why Legacy Code Is Everyone’s Problem: Wouter Lagerweij on Product & Engineering Ownership
Jun 16, 2025
Wouter Lagerweij, an independent Agile Coach from the Netherlands, shares insights on tackling legacy code and its underlying organizational issues. He argues that legacy systems reflect deeper problems within teams and emphasizes the significance of cross-functional responsibility. The conversation covers the power of Agile teaming, like mob programming, to enhance collaboration and speed. Wouter also critiques traditional bug tracking as ineffective and promotes a zero-bug policy for better quality. Listeners gain practical strategies for improving their software processes and fostering teamwork.
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Legacy Code Ownership Gap
- Wouter wrote a book to bridge the gap between product people and engineers on legacy systems problems.
- He often found product and engineering teams working past each other with diverging ownership on legacy issues.
Iteratively Create Tests for Legacy
- Take small iterative steps with product and engineering to create tests for legacy code rather than rewriting systems.
- Focus on understanding and controlling the legacy system's behavior with tests before adding new features.
Shared pain unites teams
- Legacy code issues stem from a lack of shared ownership between product and engineering.
- True change requires connecting everyone's pain points and accepting joint responsibility to fix together.
