Succeeding with Agile

Refactoring

Consider the classic definition offered by Fred Brooks in The Mythical Man Month of what happens as a software system is modified over time.

All repairs tend to destroy the structure, to increase the entropy and disorder of the system. Less and less effort is spent on fixing original design flaws; more and more is spent on fixing flaws introduced by earlier fixes. As time passes, the system becomes less and less well-ordered. Sooner or later the fixing ceases to gain any ground. Each forward step is matched by a backward one. Although in principle usable forever, the system has worn out as a base for progress. (1995)

Fortunately, since 1975 when Brooks first wrote this, our industry has learned ways to modify systems such that the ...