Ask HN: Inherited the worst code and tech team I have ever seen. How to fix it?

There are some things it should be easy to sell to both the team and to management. First, adding git into the mix. Tell them it's like backing up your work forever. You can roll most changes back to the beginning of the repo, easily. I say most changes because rolling back the code won't roll back changes to the database.

Likewise, creating a preprod environment means you can make sure new stuff doesn't bring down the system before you roll it out. Yes, it will cost a bit more but having that extra assurance and the ability to do a little experiment is considered worth it by almost every other team on Earth.

If you can get those two things in place, you can make it policy that nothing is done directly on production because the risk is too high.

Then you can tackle refactoring code, a little at a time.

Focus hard on training the team. If they are as junior as you say, they need to learn good habits before their ability to ever work as professionals is destroyed. Don't explain it to them that way. Smile and tell them you just want to help them develop their careers, which should be pretty close to the truth.

Above all, keep your resume up to date and your ear to the ground. It sounds like you may burn out before all the work is complete. Have an exit strategy, just in case.

Good luck!

If the answer is no, pick a common MVC framework like Django or Rails or Adonis, generate the models from a copy of your database, and make a minimal proof of concept.

This will go a lot longer way than just complaining about how bad everything is, and how everything needs a rewrite.

Well that's just the thing: they have no notion of a "bad code base". To them that's an excuse and a negotiation leverage by the programmer to ask for more money. They judge others by themselves I guess.

First and foremost, always remember that you and your team are there to support that revenue stream. At the moment the junior developers have done that, but it sounds like they are at an inflection point and need help moving on.

Either one of two cases exists. The current state of software development is holding the business back from growing, or the business is near its limit, but the software is still a possible source of expense, reducing profit, either through excess maintenance or potential for failures.

In either case, your job is not to fix, it’s to lead and help.

First listen to each one of the developers in detail. Find out what they think are the problems. What difficulties they have on a day to day basis. Then teach them.

Perhaps they complain about losing work, or problems merging code. Teach them source control. Perhaps they really fear production changes causing outages. Teach them how to use a staging stack.

If the business is making revenue and sustainable, then you’ve got time and space. And always remember, that revenue is your goal along with your teams productivity. Your goal is not your own happiness with the stack.

If you stick with this company, the opportunity for personal and professional growth is incredible. You’ll learn skills you’ll use for the rest of your career.

So stick with it. And just remember, everything you know about how to run software development is the end goal. It’s where you want those developers to be at the end of the journey. But always listen to them first, and help them by teaching them how to help themselves.