We’re constantly looking at the big picture.
For many projects we are asked to add new features to an existing product. In a recent case we needed to reuse much of the existing code. We discovered that this legacy code was unstable and could introduce bugs in both the new features and the original product.
A common response is to duplicate the code so the new feature can be bug‑free. That avoids breaking the old product, but it also creates a “code smell.” Duplicating code is generally a bad practice, yet many consultants take this shortcut, focusing only on their part of the project without considering long‑term impact.
One of our core principles follows a Boy Scout motto: “Leave the camp cleaner than you found it.” The right solution is to fix the old code and verify that existing features continue to work. Although riskier in the short term, this approach offers several benefits:
- the original project gets more thorough testing
- the original product becomes more stable
- the new features are stable
- things are easier to maintain in the future
We’re not here just to fix the problem that’s in front of us. We’re here to fix the problems that you haven’t yet seen.