Refactoring at Scale

Chapter 9. Making the Refactor Stick

A little over a year ago, a friend of mine named Tim decided to stop consuming sugar altogether to help him shed a few pesky pounds and regain more energy. The first week was tough; he felt lethargic and craved anything sweet, but by the end of the third week, the sugar withdrawal had abated and he began to feel peppy again. Shortly afterward, the benefits of the new diet began to creep in: he felt more alert throughout the workday, and he lost a few pounds.

After that, sticking to the diet was his biggest challenge. Tim had seen his friends try and fail to stick to a diet, so he knew that he needed to set realistic expectations for himself. To eliminate the temptation, he banished any sweet food from his apartment. He kept a regular food journal to keep himself accountable, but allowed himself the occasional treat when meeting up with friends. Two months into his journey, his partner joined him on the sugar-free journey, and together they were able to better support and encourage one another. Today, Tim is in much better health and his energy levels are only rivaled by his puppy.

Refactoring is a bit like taking up a new diet and sticking with it. Although it might seem like the greatest challenge is figuring out the change to make and implementing it, equally significant effort is required to ensure that the change lasts. In this chapter, we’ll look at a variety of tools and practices we can adopt to ensure that the improvements we made with ...