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Michael Feathers: Author of Working Effectively with Legacy Code; r7krecon.com

What makes a code base go bad and become "Legacy Code"? Can teams avoid writing bad code? Michael Feathers, author of Working Effectively With Legacy Code joins Tech Done Right to talk about technical debt, how communication can prevent bad coding practices, why coding problems are never just about code, and what it's like to go around the world seeing the worst code messes ever written.

02:36 - The Definition of “Legacy Code”

04:25 - What makes code bases go bad?

07:26 - Working as a Team to Avoid Technical Debt and Other Problems

09:49 - Tools and Techniques That Have Changed Since the Book was Written

12:38 - Lack of Institutional Memory

15:24 - What creates technical debt?

22:50 - “Symbiotic Design”

25:38 - Test-Driven Development

31:44 - Fads in Codebases

36:58 - Error Handling in Applications (in Relation to Conway’s Law)

Special Guest: Michael Feathers.

Sponsored By:

• Table XI: A trusted UX design + software development company. We are 35 meticulous and curious minds in Chicago with a 15 year history of building websites, mobile applications and custom digital experiences for everyone from startups to storied brands. Our partners trust us to create innovative solutions that drive their businesses forward.

Links:

• Working Effectively With Legacy Code
• michaelfeathers/scythe: A tool for detecting barely used code in production