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Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

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Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#11

Post by Forge36 »

solox3 wrote: post #8

With this good article I think I have a good question. The reference to Martin Fowler’s strangler pattern ( https://www.martinfowler.com/bliki/StranglerApplication.html ) was mentioned in the article to grow the new system in the same codebase until the old system is strangled. In my case (Ionic 1 to 2) however, both the entire framework and the language are different. How should the strangler pattern work in this ca…

The company I'm working at is doing this currently. The new product is on the web and the old one is a full client windows program. The biggest hurtle will be to find the balance between largest/smallest pieces which can be transitioned as seamlessly as possible.

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#12

Post by lovich »

Buttons840 wrote: post #7
Chyzwar wrote: post #4

The rewrite is usually when it is too late for the project. Need for re-write mean that project maintenance was ignored and technical debt reached critical levels. I would start by firing people that led to this situation.

They're already gone, almost certainly.

I've found that they are usually still there but as they are the CEO/CTO it's difficult to get them fired

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#13

Post by omegaworks »

ronpeled wrote: post #10
solox3 wrote: post #8

With this good article I think I have a good question. The reference to Martin Fowler’s strangler pattern ( https://www.martinfowler.com/bliki/StranglerApplication.html ) was mentioned in the article to grow the new system in the same codebase until the old system is strangled. In my case (Ionic 1 to 2) however, both the entire framework and the language are different. How should the strangler pattern work in this ca…

There's no super easy way here. One way to get this done is find independent areas of the app that can be replaced without coupling. Then start building up as you go with the new system. At some point you'll be about 70% through of which you can decide if you want to make the jump and focus your efforts to completely uproot the old one. Sorry for the abstract reference here, but it applies to almost any replatforming…

Are there any examples out there for how to do this with React in an existing AngularJS codebase?

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#14

Post by munk-a »

maxxxxx wrote: post #5

"Red Flag #4: You aren’t working with people who were experts in the old system.” I think this is most important. A lot of people want to rewrite because they don't understand the current system and don't want to bother learning. Before you rewrite you really should understand the current state deeply.

#4 is sort of terribly worded, the summary line is something that is important and pretty independent, make sure you're working with expert users of the system... then the explanation brings in a Senior Dev as a good resource to tap. This is the wrong direction, you really want to consult with the system experts to see their rationale for requesting what might seem like odd functionality in the first place.

#4 also mixes a good deal with #5 in that any changes you make (even purely good ones in your view) will require retraining of users and cause a kerfuffle when rolled out to your user base, people _hate_ change.

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#16

Post by clintonb »

Chyzwar wrote: post #4

The rewrite is usually when it is too late for the project. Need for re-write mean that project maintenance was ignored and technical debt reached critical levels. I would start by firing people that led to this situation.

If you fire those people, you remove your source of expertise on the old system. Yes, they did a poor job of maintaining the old system, but their knowledge may be valuable to understanding the old system and creating requirements for the new system to reach parity.

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#18

Post by Ensorceled »

Red Flag #6: Key stake holders keep moving the goal posts.

If your goal moves from feature comparable but on a modern platform, to new features, to a complete reinventing of the product all without actually shipping ... you might be in trouble.

I had a rebuild go 6 months over. In the heated executive meeting at t+3 months I was called to defend my team and pointed out that the VP Product had just delivered “final” specs literally the day before. How could we be on track with development if PM is 3 months past “end of development” with design specifications. The fact that the specs were changing weekly because “we’re agile” is a whole other issue.

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#19

Post by JumpCrisscross »

Chyzwar wrote: post #4

The rewrite is usually when it is too late for the project. Need for re-write mean that project maintenance was ignored and technical debt reached critical levels. I would start by firing people that led to this situation.

> I would start by firing people that led to this situation

Thereby fomenting Red Flag #4, not "working with people who were experts in the old system.”

Re: Red Flags Signaling That a Rebuild Will Fail

#20

Post by curyous »

solox3 wrote: post #8

With this good article I think I have a good question. The reference to Martin Fowler’s strangler pattern ( https://www.martinfowler.com/bliki/StranglerApplication.html ) was mentioned in the article to grow the new system in the same codebase until the old system is strangled. In my case (Ionic 1 to 2) however, both the entire framework and the language are different. How should the strangler pattern work in this ca…

I'm surprised at what gets called a pattern these days. Fowler didn't describe it as a pattern, but just because Mr. Guru said it, it is now a pattern?
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