Modernizing through evolution not revolution

By Guust Nieuwenhuis

Elevator Pitch

So, what happens when the bugs add up and the monster emerges? Refactor? Rewrite from scratch?

Description

Our company has grown over a quarter of a century, and across those years we have matured as developers and IT companies, refining both our tools and practices to a degree that the past seems hardly recognizable. Counter to this are the inevitable compromises, products of constrained timeframes, limited client budgets or strained resources. Projects inevitably lean more towards growth and depth than general modernization, to the point that they become difficult to maintain. So, what happens when the bugs add up and the monster emerges? Refactor? Rewrite from scratch? We’ve been involved in many such projects, internally and inherited both, and have learned there is no simple answer to the question “how do we move forward?” Through case studies and anecdotes I will explain what to look out for, from both a technical and business perspective.

Notes

I’ve given this talk before at: - ColdFusion Summit 2022 (Las Vegas) - ColdFusion Summit Online 2022

A recording of this talk is available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZ0S-4WxDU