Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers
SE Radio 656: Ivett Ördög on Rewrite versus Refactor
Feb 20, 2025
Ivett Ördög, creator of LeanPoker and a thought leader in software development, shares insights on the often contentious choice between rewriting and refactoring code. She challenges the conventional wisdom of avoiding rewrites, discussing conditions for successful large-scale transitions. Ivett also examines the implications of legacy code, the role of technical debt in startups, and strategies for obtaining management support. Their conversation highlights incremental improvement versus large-scale changes, emphasizing customer value during software evolution.
49:43
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Quick takeaways
- Refactoring is often the preferred choice for improving code, but significant changes to system logic can necessitate a rewrite instead.
- Successfully managing technical debt requires careful consideration and a balanced approach to ensure sustainable growth without overwhelming the system.
Deep dives
The Refactor vs. Rewrite Debate
The podcast delves deeply into the complex decision-making process between refactoring and rewriting code. Refactoring involves making incremental changes to improve code structure without altering its behavior, while rewriting means starting from scratch with a new codebase. The conversation highlights that refactoring should ideally be the first choice, but may not always be feasible due to situations where the fundamental system logic itself must change. Acknowledging when to transition from refactoring to rewriting can be critical, and it's emphasized that thoughtful evaluation is needed to avoid significant pitfalls.
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