James Socol: Building Social Capital in Engineering Teams

Maintainable

In this episode of the Maintainable Software Podcast, Robby Russell sits down with James Socol, a Staff Engineer at Fastly, to discuss the art of maintaining legacy code and the nuances of technical debt versus technical depreciation.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Characteristics of Well-Maintained Code: James shares his insights on what defines well-maintained code, emphasizing the importance of continuous maintenance, testing, and encapsulation.
• Technical Debt vs. Technical Depreciation: James introduces the concept of technical depreciation, distinguishing it from technical debt and explaining how time affects software maintenance.
• Balancing Old and New Patterns: The discussion explores the challenges of integrating modern standards into legacy systems and finding a healthy balance.
• 20% Time for Maintenance: James advocates for dedicating a portion of engineering capacity to maintenance tasks, drawing parallels to Google's 20% time concept.
• Onboarding Strategies: James offers valuable advice for new hires, emphasizing observation, gradual involvement, and building social capital within the team.
• Continuous Delivery and Big Changes: Insights into managing significant changes in a continuous delivery environment, with practical strategies for maintaining stability.

Resources Mentioned:

• Riot Engineering Blog: A Taxonomy of Tech Debt
• Silicon Valley Product Group
• Laura Hogan's Donut Theory

Books:

• Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher & William Ury
• Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet

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