Software teams constantly face the pressure of delivering new features, resolving bugs, and improving product performance. In this fast-paced environment, code refactoring often takes a backseat, seen as time-consuming and less significant. However, neglecting refactoring leads to technical debt, akin to postponing car maintenance that renders the vehicle unreliable.

In this talk we will explore options like integrating refactoring during feature creation, prioritizing it as a task, or disregarding it. Each approach has pros and cons, depending on project size, complexity, and the importance of the refactor.

Join us to gain insights into accelerating development while ensuring long-term code maintainability. Learn practical strategies and principles to avoid costly rewrites caused by technical debt. Discover how proactive refactoring practices can prevent future expensive consultations. Treat your codebase like a credit card, making regular "payments" through ongoing refactoring. Optimize development velocity, minimize technical debt, and achieve sustainable success in software engineering.

Meet Your Speakers:
Kimberly Hendrick - Kim is a Lead Developer at Initial Capacity with extensive practical experience in software development. Prior to Initial Capacity, Kim gained a wide range of real-world experience including in the healthcare, financial and educational domains. She loves collaborating with others to apply creative problem-solving to challenges. She is passionate about agile and XP practices and loves pairing and mentoring.

Sarah Niemeyer - Sarah is a full stack developer and consultant at Initial Capacity [IC]. Before joining [IC], she spent 6 consulting and teaching with Pivotal Labs, Pivotal Education, and VMware. Based in Colorado, she enjoys skiing, rafting, biking, and spending time with her beagle, Max. She is passionate about pragmatic programming, and believes in the power of test-driven development to produce high-quality code that is adaptable to changing business needs.