Does Your Codebase Spark Joy?
summary
Allocate dedicated time (example: one-person sprint or 25% per sprint) to run a repo-wide formatter like Prettier, enable linters such as eslint on save, add CI hooks, and ship one passing test with a coverage threshold. Use characterization tests and Michael Feathers’ refactoring steps to break dependencies in legacy code. Expect faster onboarding (days instead of weeks), fewer review nit comments, quicker decisions, and lower churn costs (replacing an engineer often costs ~6–9 months of salary).
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chapters (10)
- 0:00Introduction and motivation
- 3:08Defining the KonMari method
- 7:28Benefits of a tidy code base
- 15:26Guidelines for tidying
- 22:20Discarding what lacks joy
- 25:46Tidying by category
- 37:58Refactoring techniques
- 42:43Beyond the code base
- 45:14Building sustainable habits
- 53:20Q&A and closing
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