The Refactoring Curve
Posted by: K. Scott Allen,
on 25 Jan 2011 |
View original | Bookmarked: 0 time(s)
Empirical studies on software refactoring are hard to find, but I believe refactoring follows the 80/20 rule - 80% of the possible benefit comes by applying just the first 20% of effort. Like most work in engineering and economics, the curve flattens under the pressure of diminishing returns. In this context I'm not thinking of individual refactoring operations (like extract method), but overarching efforts to improve software quality through rework, or by following a process like test-first design....