Impact
June 12

A love letter to legacy

Looking after an existing codebase is a job for the most experienced engineers. Far from being "the short straw," brownfield development can be more exciting than working in a feature factory.

Too often, legacy is used as a swear word. Developers run a mile when asked to look after an existing system that's a bit long in the tooth. In this talk, I’ll discuss how legacy systems are usually the ones that make money, run reliably for ages, and hold up a variety of systems.

I'll look at what makes legacy, how best to describe it, and what we can learn from it, leaving you with some ideas on how to look after it.

Key points will include:

  • Legacy code is then one that makes the money
  • How can we make maintenance "sexy" again?
  • How does the “you build it, you run it” approach fit in with software maintenance
  • Why is it so important that the engineers looking after your legacy software are not a revolving door of burnt-out engineers
  • The importance of autonomy and sticking with the agile mantra of "people over processes and tools"
Gerald Benischke
Head of Engineering, Ooredoo FinTech
Gerald Benischke

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