Oh yeah, that’s something I’ve actually been thinking about recently. Unfortunately, I think it isn’t very compatible with the way management works at most companies. Normally there’s pressure to get your tickets done quickly, which leaves less time for “refactor as you go”. And then if you’re lucky, they’ll allocate some time for tech debt. But as you say, that’s less efficient than “refactor as you go” because you have to load all that context back in to your working memory.
All of this is a big part of what I had in mind in writing this post though. If managers/decision makers took the outside view on code quality, maybe they would encourage developers to take their time and refactor as they go rather than having pressure to finish tickets quickly.
Unfortunately, I think it isn’t very compatible with the way management works at most companies. Normally there’s pressure to get your tickets done quickly, which leaves less time for “refactor as you go”.
I’ve heard this a lot, but I’ve worked at 8 companies so far, and none of them have had this kind of time pressure. Is there a specific industry or location where this is more common?
Interesting. My impression is that it’s pretty widespread across industries and locations. It’s been the case for me in all four companies I’ve worked at. Two of which were startups, two mid-sized, and each was in a different state.
Oh yeah, that’s something I’ve actually been thinking about recently. Unfortunately, I think it isn’t very compatible with the way management works at most companies. Normally there’s pressure to get your tickets done quickly, which leaves less time for “refactor as you go”. And then if you’re lucky, they’ll allocate some time for tech debt. But as you say, that’s less efficient than “refactor as you go” because you have to load all that context back in to your working memory.
All of this is a big part of what I had in mind in writing this post though. If managers/decision makers took the outside view on code quality, maybe they would encourage developers to take their time and refactor as they go rather than having pressure to finish tickets quickly.
I’ve heard this a lot, but I’ve worked at 8 companies so far, and none of them have had this kind of time pressure. Is there a specific industry or location where this is more common?
Interesting. My impression is that it’s pretty widespread across industries and locations. It’s been the case for me in all four companies I’ve worked at. Two of which were startups, two mid-sized, and each was in a different state.