Well Designed Code vs Usual Crap
Last week at the Pragma Conference I had the pleasure to attend a bunch of very interesting talks about designing better code and application architectures.
During one of the breaks I was chatting with a friend and one of his reflections was along the lines of:
We enjoy these presentations with great tips about good app architecture, well designed code, refactoring and when we go back to our job we end up dealing with the usual crap: duplicated code, patchy architectures and close to zero test coverage.
It’s true.
Some of us will need to be pushy to convince their team of the advantages of testing or continuous integration.
Some of us will struggle to explain to the client that that little change means rewriting 20% of the app.
Some of us will have to fight hard the “it works don’t touch it” mantra when they propose to refactor a part of a project.
It sounds depressing. But keep pushing.
Over time:
- your message will persuade your team. Maybe not all at once, maybe slowly, in bits and pieces.
- your clients will perceive the real value of your job.
- you will land new, better projects
- you will improve your craft
Keep pushing. The usual crap will stay if you don’t.