Step Back and Look Hard

I have some really smart developers on my project.  They keep up to date with the latest best practices, try to apply them and often improve the product as a result.

However, sometimes things don’t go as planned.  I’ve recently been fixing some very significant defects in our software because developers, while applying best practices and refactoring to simpler designs, missed the picture of how the software had to work.

I’m completely in favor of adopting best practices recognized by the industry as it makes sense for the project.  I also think continuous refactoring is necessary in order to keep the product maintainable.

However, it’s always necessary to understand the context of the software you’re changing.  Complete unit testing is simply not possible.  It’s just impossible to know you have complete coverage.  So use your brain, know what’s going on, and make sure what you’re doing makes sense.